n 


LIFE    OK 


THE 


REV.  HENRY  HARBAUGH,  D.D. 


BY 


HARBAUGH,  ESQ. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND  EULOGY. 


'  Selig  sind  die  das  Heimweh  ha  ben, 
Denn  sic  sollen  nach  Haus  kommen.' 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

REFORMED  CHURCH  PUBLICATION  BOARD. 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL  BOARD  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH. 


COPYRIGHT  1900 

By  Reformed  Church  Publication  Board,  and  Sunday-school  Board  of 
Reformed  Church. 


.CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  .    .  The  Rev.  Nathan  C.  Schaeffer,  D.D.,      5-19 


.    .  The  Rev.  Em'l  V.  Gerhart,  D.D.,  LL.D.,     21-55 
HYMNS  AND  POEMS  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH  — 

"Jesus,  I  Live  to  Thee"    ...........  57 

"Jesus,  my  Shepherd"    ............  57-58 

"Jesus,  to  Thy  Cross  I  Hasten  "    .......  58 

"  The  Mystic  Weaver  "     .......       ....  59-62 

"Heemweh"      ................  63-67 

"Das  alt  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick  "  ......  68-72 

I.  ANCESTRY  ...................  73-89 

II.  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH  ON  THE  FARM    ...  90-110 

III.  THE  STUDENT  AND  APPRENTICE  IN  THE  WEST  .  111-131 

IV.  MARSHAL,!,  COW,EGE  AND  THE  SEMINARY,  MER- 
CERSBURG,  PA.     .   .          ...........  132-156 

V.  TWENTY  YEARS  IN  THE  MINISTRY  .......  1  5  7-  193 

VI.  THE  AUTHOR  AND  His  WORKS  ......  194-253 

VII.  BACK  TO  OI,D  MERCERSBURG    .........  254-302 

BIBLIOGRAPHY    ...................        303 


M181690 


EWD.  PENQELLY  &  BRO.,  PRS.,  READING,  PA. 


INTRODUCTION 


SAW  and  heard  Dr.  Harbaugh  but  once.  It 
was  a  rare  privilege.  It  deepened  the  impres- 
sion which  his  articles  in  the  Guardian  had 
made,  and  greatly  enhanced  the  high  estimate 
which  I  had  formed  of  his  genius.  The  occa- 
sion was  the  commencement  banquet  of  Franklin  and 
Marshall  College  in  the  year  1866.  We  under- 
graduates were  not  allowed  to  participate  in  the  feast ; 
but  when  the  part  of  the  program  which  consisted  of 
toasts  was  reached,  the  alumni  adjourned  to  the  main 
auditorium  of  Fulton  Hall  (since  converted  into  an 
opera  house),  and  this  gave  me  the  opportunity  to  hear 
Dr.  Harbaugh's  response  to  the  toast,  "  The  Mercers- 
burg  Review. ' '  Its  humor  and  delivery  made  a  deeper 
impression  than  the  oratory  of  all  the  eminent  men  at 
home  and  abroad  whom  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
hear  at  banquets,  in  the  pulpit  or  from  the  rostrum. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  speech  was 
delivered  in  the  dialect  of  my  boyhood.  He  had 
shown  the  poetic  possibilities  of  the  Pennsylvania 
German  in  the  pages  of  the  Guardian ;  he  was  now 
to  prove  its  power  and  fitness  for  the  purposes  of  an 
after-dinner  speech.  When  the  toast  was  announced, 
he  attracted  attention  by  walking  forward  after  the 


6  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

manner  of  an  old  farmer,  pulling  off  a  slouch  hat  with 
both  hands,  and  catching  a  red  bandanna  handkerchief 
as  it  dropped  from  his  forehead.  His  first  sentence, 

"Es  gebt  gar  greislich  gelerente  Leut,  und  Ich  bin  awe 
aner  dafun," 

("There  are  some  very  learned  people,  and  I  am  one  of 
'em,") 

sent  a  flash  of  merriment  through  the  assemblage. 
When  he  proceeded  to  enumerate  the  learned  lan- 
guages— 

' '  Es  gebt  sieva  gelehrte  Sproche,  Englisch  und  Deutsch, 
X/ateinisch  und  Griechish  und  Hebraeisch  ;  sell  sin  fiinf.  Die 
•sechst  haest  Pennsylvania  Deutsch,  die  sievet  is  German 
Reformed,"— 

("There  are  seven  learned  languages,  English  and  German, 
I,atin  and  Greek  and  Hebrew  ;  these  are  five.  The  sixth  is 
called  Pennsylvania  German,  the  seventh  is  German  Re- 
formed,"— 

there  were  shouts  of  laughter  over  the  entire  hall. 
The  merriment  reached  its  climax  when  he  referred  to 
the  venerable  Dr.  John  W.  Nevin  as 

"  Der  Chon  Nevin,  do  navig  mir." 
( ' '  John  Nevin,  here  aside  of  me. ' ' ) 

The  applause  then  was  like  that  of  a  great  convention 
and  lasted  for  some  time.  The  impression  made  by 
his  enumeration  of  the  contributors  and  by  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  work  it  accomplished  before  its  publication 
was  suspended,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  Re- 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

view  was  revived,  and  under  different  names  its  pub- 
lication has  been  continued  to  the  present  time. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  a  typical  Pennsylvania  German. 
The  dialect  and  its  range  of  ideas  he  acquired  at  his 
mother's  knee  and  from  the  companions  of  his  child- 
hood and  youth.  His  powers  of  work  and  his  love  of 
fun  were  developed  under  the  tutelage  of  the  old  farm 
and  under  the  influence  of  its  customs,  traditions  and 
forms  of  speech.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
homes  and  habits,  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the 
Pennsylvanians  of  German  ancestry.  He  knew  their 
merits,  foibles,  and  shortcomings,  their  peculiar  ways 
and  superstitions,  their  highest  hopes  and  noblest 
emotions.  He  admired  their  frankness  and  simplicity, 
their  thrift  and  industry,  their  honesty  and  integrity. 
He  shared  their  fondness  for  good  meals,  their  sense  of 
humor,  their  hatred  of  every  form  of  sham  and  hum- 
bug. He  summed  up  in  his  personality  and  exem- 
plified in  his  life  the  best  characteristics  of  these 
people.  Of  all  the  men  whom  they  have  given  to  the 
world,  he  was  the  most  gifted  and  the  most  productive 
from  a  literary  point  of  view.  Even  in  his  criticism  of 
the  common  school  system  he  reflected  their  views, 
their  fears  and  their  prejudices.  Had  he  lived  to  our 
time  he  would  have  accepted,  as  a  fixed  fact  among  all 
civilized  nations,  schools  supported  by  taxation  ;  and 
he  would  have  been  untiring  in  the  effort  to  put  into 
these  schools  teachers  of  the  highest  skill  and  the 
most  unblemished  character. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  more  than  a  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man. He  mastered  the  English  so  well  that  his  style 


8  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

was  envied  and  admired  by  many  whose  mother  tongue 
was  Knglish  and  who  had  enjoyed  far  superior  educa- 
tional advantages.  Such  was  his  command  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  words  that  many  of  his  sentences  consist  almost 
entirely  of  monosyllables.  In  one  respect  he  was  like 
Prof.  Felton  of  Harvard,  who,  on  handing  a  manuscript 
to  the  printer,  said  :  I  profess  Greek,  not  spelling. 
Although  Dr.  Harbaugh  could  never  have  taken  a 
prize  at  a  spelling  bee,  he  always  stuffed  his  sentences 
full  of  sense  and  thought.  He  always  aimed  to  make 
his  discourses  intelligible  and  had  little  patience  with 
those  who  cannot  or  will  not  make  their  ideas  clear  to 
their  audiences.  His  assimilation  of  the  fruits  of 
scholarship  and  sound  learning  was  thorough  and 
rapid,  yet  he  never  drifted  away  from  the  common 
people.  He  voiced  their  sentiments  and  aspirations  in 
prose  and  poetry,  and  sought  to  bring  absolute  and 
eternal  truth  within  the  comprehension  of  the  humblest. 
His  talks  to  children  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  all 
who  attended  his  Sunday  School.  Several  of  the  hymns 
which  he  wrote  have  come  into  general  use  and  are  now 
helping  to  stimulate  the  hopes,  to  enrich  the  devotions, 
and  to  elevate  the  aspirations  of  Christian  worshippers 
wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken.  The  best 
thoughts  of  the  best  men  were  his  special  delight. 
Everything  human  and  divine  had  an  interest  for  him. 
By  taking  up  into  himself  the  best  things  in  literature 
and  the  humanities  he  became  a  representative  of 
humanity  in  the  best  and  broadest  sense  of  the  term. 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  centre  of  his  thinking,  his  affec- 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

tions,  his  purposes,  and  everything  that  he  wrote  and 
spoke  was  intended  to  build  up  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
As  a  preacher  he  had  few  equals  and  no  superior  in 
the  Reformed  Church.  His  sermons  were  fresh,  inter- 
esting, instructive,  and  edifying.  An  audience  com- 
posed largely  of  students  and  professors  is  very  hard  to 
please  and  very  difficult  to  hold.  Of  their  own  accord 
the  students  of  the  college  flocked  to  his  church  and 
filled  its  pews.  With  pleasure  and  profit  they  listened 
to  his  lectures  on  cultus  and  on  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  as  well  as  to  his  regular  sermons.  One  who 
often  heard  him  writes  : 

"He  had  the  qualities  of  a  popular  speaker.  His  clear, 
round,  musical  voice  he  could  control  and  use  with  marvelous 
power.  A  good  voice  is  a  rare  advantage  to  a  public  speaker. 
Whether  this  gift  was  wholly  natural  or  the  result  of  elocution- 
ary study  I  cannot  tell.  He  could  be  distinctly  heard  in  every 
part  of  the  largest  church,  even  when  speaking  on  the  lowest 
key.  His  utterance  was  always  slow  and  distinct ;  indeed, 
sometimes  it  seemed  slow  to  a  fault.  Fluency,  as  some  men 
count  it,  he  had  not.  He  lacked  that  rapidity  of  utterance  so 
common  among  public  speakers,  which  allows  syllables  and 
ideas  to  tread  on  each  other's  heels  in  hurried  confusion.  His 
deliberateness  of  articulation  sometimes  made  him  seem 
awkward  and  hesitating.  With  slow  and  measured  accent, 
effective  and  well  chosen  emphasis  and  few  gestures,  he  rolled 
out  his  short,  sonorous  sentences  like  pleasant  music.  Few 
men  combine  depth  with  clearness,  as  he  did.  He  could  see 
truth  in  the  most  trivial  themes  and  subjects,  and  knew  how  to 
show  it  to  others.  Often,  when  he  announced  an  odd  text  or 
subject,  his  hearers  wondered  how  anybody  could  tell  people 
anything  worth  listening  to  on  such  a  theme.  To  the  tiniest 
flower  and  the  most  insignificant  animal  he  could  give  a  tongue 
to  utter  an  impressive  sermon.  He  abounded  in  apt  illustra- 


I0  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

tions  ;  preached  frequently  by  parables  taken  from  common 
life.  He  dealt  much  in  'likes.'  His  style  was  unique.  He 
was  profound  yet  simple,  learned  yet  clear.  His  writings  and 
sermons  abound  in  short  sentences  and  short  Saxon  words. 
He  mediated  between  the  deepest  philosophy  and  the  practical 
sense  of  the  common  people.  Freely  using  sources  of  learning, 
he  used  them  as  a  tree  uses  the  earth  and  air,  by  reproducing 
and  assimilating  their  substance.  His  sermons  were  aglow 
with  life.  You  felt  the  warm  blood  coursing  through  every 
sentence.  He  could  throw  a  charm  around  the  most  abstruse 
and  apparently  barren  theme,  and  draw  from  it  a  cup  of  cold 
water  for  the  panting  heart  of  the  most  illiterate  day  laborer. 
These  lines  will  be  read  by  men  of  intelligence  and  earnest 
thought,  who  remember  the  time  when  they  were  adrift  on  the 
dark,  stormy  sea  of  skepticism.  Without  faith,  without  virtue, 
without  hope,  providentially  they  were  led  to  hear  him  once. 
An  undefinable  something  led  them  there  a  second  time.  And 
thereafter  he  drew  them  closer  and  closer  to  himself.  Step  by 
step,  and  often  unconsciously  to  himself,  he  brought  their 
imperilled  souls  into  the  ark  of  safety.  Many  such  there  are 
whose  doubts  he  solved,  and  whom  he  led  to  the  Lamb  of 
God." 

It  is  the  privilege  of  a  gifted  writer  to  influence  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  many  with  whom  he  never  comes 
into  personal  contact.  His  Golden  Censer  is  still 
without  a  rival  as  a  book  of  devotion  for  young  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  In  it  he  is  still  guiding  the  devo- 
tions of  youth  and  lifting  their  inner  life  to  a  higher 
plane.  His  books  on  Heaven  have  consoled  multitudes 
in  their  hours  of  sorrow  and  bereavement.  An  instance 
in  point  will  not  be  uninteresting.  A  New  England 
educator  and  author,  Dr.  William  A.  Mo  wry,  was 
making  a  trip  through  Pennsylvania.  When  the  sta- 
tion Lancaster  was  announced,  he  said  it  reminded  him 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

of  Henry  Harbaugh,  in  whose  "Heavenly  Recogni- 
tion" he  became  interested  as  far  back  as  1851,  the 
year  that  the  book  was  published.  Depressed  by  the 
death  of  a  friend,  he  had  gotten  relief  from  it.  He 
read  it  again  and  again.  Finding  the  argument  satis- 
factory, he  has  since  used  several  copies  as  gifts  to 
those  who  have  lost  friends  by  death.  Once  while  on 
his  way  from  New  York  to  Boston  he  met  a  stranger 
wearing  weeds  on  his  hat  as  a  sign  of  mourning  for  a 
deceased  wife.  After  some  conversation  the  mourner 
asked  :  "Do  you  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul?"  They  discussed  Butler's  Argument  for  the 
belief  in  a  future  state  and  exchanged  cards  on  parting. 
Harbaugh' s  Book  on  Heavenly  Recognition  was  sent 
and  courteously  acknowledged.  L,ater  the  two  met 
again.  The  influence  of  the  book  was  evident.  The 
bereaved  man  had  risen  above  his  despondency  and 
settled  in  his  mind  the  question  of  a  hereafter.  To 
cause  a  good  book  to  be  read  by  another  is  to  show  a 
double  favor ;  it  benefits  the  reader  and  widens  the 
blessed  influence  of  the  author. 

While  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  writing  the  Lives  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church,  he  heard  of  a  trunk 
full  of  documents  collected  by  Rev.  Philip  Boehm.  He 
and  two  other  clergymen  traced  the  trunk  to  a  building 
on  Cherry  Street  in  Philadelphia.  Upon  learning  that 
the  building,  with  all  its  contents,  had  been  destroyed, 
he  shed  tears  over  this  irreparable  loss. 

During  their  search  for  the  trunk  and  for  historic 
reminiscences  the  three  stopped  at  a  suburban  home 


I2  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

and  were  handsomely  entertained.  Next  day  on  their 
return  to  the  city,  as  the  house  was  disappearing  over 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  he  stopped  to  bless  and  gaze  at  the 
home,  saying  :  ' '  There  dwells  a  very  nice  family.  God 
be  praised  that  there  are  such  families.  Would  that 
there  were  more  of  them."  Those  whose  homes  he 
entered  as  a  guest  say  that  his  conversation  was  always 
entertaining  and  instructive.  His  genial  countenance 
had  a  power  which  few  could  resist.  Traveling  in  a 
car,  he  sat  behind  two  gentlemen  whose  profanity 
annoyed  him.  He  leaned  forward  and  said  :  '"  I  notice 
that  you  are  men  of  prominence  and  gentlemen  of  cul- 
ture, but  the  oaths  with  which  you  interlard  your  con- 
versation are  very  annoying  to  me,  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel.  I  know  it  is  more  from  the  force  of  habit  than 
from  any  evil  intention."  They  felt  inclined  to  resent 
the  interruption,  but  when  they  saw  his  genial  face, 
they  thanked  him  for  his  kind  counsel,  whereupon  he 
said  :  ' '  If  you  must  use  expletives  in  your  sentences, 
say  potatoes  and  beans."  The  gentlemen  changed 
their  conversation  and  grew  very  fond  of  him  before 
the  end  of  the  journey. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  quick-witted  and  seldom  at  a  loss 
for  a  reply.  Among  his  warm  personal  friends  was 
Rev.  Samuel  Bowman,  Rector  of  St.  James  Kpiscopal 
Church  at  Lancaster,  Pa.  He  congratulated  the  latter 
upon  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopacy.  "Ah,"  replied 
the  newly-made  bishop,  ' '  after  all  you  grant  that  there 
is  something  in  the  Episcopal  office. "  "Of  course  I 
do,"  was  the  reply.  "  As  an  ordained  minister  of  the 
Reformed  Church  I  have  for  many  years  performed  the 


INTRODUCTION.  ^ 

rite  of  confirmation,  and  I  congratulate  you  on  your 
elevation  to  my  own  rank. ' ' 

One  incident  in  his  life  recalls  a  parallel  incident  in 
the  life  of  Socrates.  A  stranger  on  beholding  the  face 
of  this  famous  Athenian  exclaimed  ;  ' '  That  man  is  a 
glutton."  The  inference  was  a  great  blunder,  for  of 
all  the  men  of  that  period  Socrates  was  the  most  tem- 
perate in  all  things.  The  incident  in  the  life  of  Dr. 
Harbaugh  also  grew  out  of  his  personal  appearance. 
Says  the  writer  already  quoted  : 

"In  person  he  was  of  medium  height,  inclined  to  corpu- 
lency. His  florid  face  gave  evidence  of  a  vigorous  constitution 
which  he  by  no  means  possessed.  '  What  a  pity  that  such  a 
powerful  preacher  should  be  a  drunkard,'  said  a  gentleman 
who  had  just  heard  him  preach  in  Pottsville,  Pa.  His  red  face 
misled  the  man.  The  temperance  cause  had  no  abler  champion 

than  Dr.  Harbaugh He  was  simple  in  his  style  of 

dress,  no  less  than  in  his  style  of  writing  and  speaking.  He 
despised  the  dandy,  above  all  the  literary  and  clerical  dandy. 
Whilst  he  often  gave  his  clothes  to  the  poor,  his  own  garments 
not  unfrequently  bore  marks  of  long  use.  Although  one  of 
the  most  earnest  of  men,  he  was,  on  all  proper  occasions,  brim 
full  of  fun.  Would  that  some  one  could  collect  his  'table 
talk,'  his  sayings  around  the  festive  board  and  among  the 
circles  of  his  more  intimate  friends.  Few  have  such  a  fund  of 
anecdotes  as  he  had,  and  few  could  tell  them  with  such 
dramatic  effect.  Many  of  these  have  passed  into  current  use, 
and  are  often  quoted  by  his  friends  in  conversation.  With  a 
sort  of  humorous  abandon  he  could  throw  himself  on  the  study 
lounge,  and  entertain  a  group  of  friends  by  the  hour  amid 
roars  of  mirthful  laughter. ' ' 

Although  fond  of  wit  and  humor,  he  was  always 
reverent  and  always  insisted  on  reverence  for  sacred 


1 4  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

things.  A  student  of  theology  announced  that  the 
religious  exercises  would  be  opened  by  the  singing  of 
a  hymn.  He  reminded  the  student  that  the  Reformed 
Church  holds  religious  services,  not  exercises.  On 
the  floor  of  synod  he  described  the  difference  between 
churchly  and  unchurchly  denominations ;  the  former, 
he  said,  hold  religious  services,  the  latter  religious 
exercises.  The  distinction  was  emphasized  by  ges- 
tures and  bodily  movements  resembling  those  of  the 
athletic  field  and  the  old-fashioned  revival  meetings. 
In  the  class  room  he  invariably  addressed  the  students 
by  using  the  term  brethren,  rather  than  the  phrase, 
young  gentlemen.  The  epithets  applied  to  him  by 
those  who  studied  under  him,  show  the  profound 
esteem  and  affection  which  they  cherish  for  him.  The 
secret  of  his  influence  over  young  and  old  is  found  in 
the  superior  qualities  of  heart  which  he  possessed. 
"Great  thoughts  spring  from  the  heart,"  says  a 
philosopher.  "Out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of 
life,"  says  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  The  sources  of  a 
man's  influence  for  good  are  found  in  the  heart  rather 
than  in  the  head.  Because  he  had  nothing  else  to 
give,  Pestalozzi  took  off  his  silver  shoe-buckles  and 
gave  them  to  a  beggar.  Harbaugh,  on  a  frosty  morn- 
ing, took  off  his  shoes  and  put  on  his  slippers  that  he 
might  give  the  shoes  to  a  barefooted,  thinly  clad  tramp 
at  the  front  door.  The  student  in  need  of  funds 
always  found  in  him  a  helpful  friend.  During  the 
meeting  of  the  Lutheran  Synod  at  Lancaster  a  student 
from  Gettysburg  stopped  at  his  house.  When  asked 
what  claim  he  had  upon  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Har- 


INTRODUCTION.  !5 

baugh,  he  replied  that  he  was  a  reader  of  the  Guardian. 
One  of  the  most  touching  incidents  belongs  to  the 
pastorate  at  Lewisburg,  and  is  best  given  in  the  words 
of  another  : 

"An  old  member  of  his  flock  was  an  habitual  drunkard.  In 
his  soberer  moments  he  always  repented  of  his  folly.  The 
pastor  saw  the  man's  weakness.  The  cause  of  temperance  then 
was  violently  assailed.  The  new  pastor  became  known  as  a 
temperance  champion.  All  manner  of  threats  were  made  to 
intimidate  him.  These  only  incited  him  to  greater  boldness. 
He  took  the  old  drunkard  by  the  hand  ;  sat  with  him  in  his 
little  hut  by  the  hour.  For  years  the  inebriate's  hard  heart 
had  been  proof  against  all  arguments.  But  this  was  a  change 
of  base.  In  his  small  room  the  pastor  knelt  by  his  side,  and 
prayed  God  to  help  him  lift  the  fallen  man  up.  His  soft  words 
of  love  fell  on  the  old  man's  heart  like  the  first  rays  of  the 
spring  sun,  thawing  the  earth  and  covering  the  fields  with 
green.  This  he  could  not  resist.  '  Here  is  a  man  that  loves 
me — me,  a  poor  drunkard. '  Thus  he  thought  and  felt.  He  was 
melted  down  with  keenest  penitence.  There  was  joy  in  that 
little  home,  there  was  joy  in  heaven  at  the  sight.  The  old  man 
wept  for  sorrow  and  his  old  wife  for  joy.  The  pastor  knew  well 
the  force  of  his  old  habits — how  hard  it  would  be  to  break  away 
from  the  bent  of  twenty  years'  drunkenness  and  become  a 
sober  man.  Now  the  tempter  will  try  his  utmost  to  keep  the 
poor  man  out  of  heaven,  to  keep  him  at  his  cups.  The  pastor 
warned  him  against  danger  ;  entreated  him  to  shun  all  drinking 
places,  attend  church,  prayer  meeting ;  urged  him  too  to  pray 
every  day  in  his  family ;  all  of  which  advice  he  obeyed. 
Thenceforth  his  old  Bible  and  prayer  book,  for  many  years 
sadly  neglected,  were  his  daily  companions.  He  was  regularly 
at  his  place  in  church.  One  night  he  was  absent  from  the 

prayer-meeting.     '  Where  is   Peter  ?'  was  the   anxious 

inquiry  of  the  pastor  at  the  close  of  the  services.  Though  late 
at  night,  he  at  once  proceeded  to  his  house.  The  poor  wife 


!6  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

knew  not  where  lie  was.  '  Surely  some  wicked  persons  have 
entrapped  him,  to  defeat  my  well  meant  endeavors,  and  ruin 
his  poor  soul. '  Through  the  window  of  a  tavern  he  sees  the 
old  man  at  the  bar,  with  his  carousing  comrades.  He  hesitated 
for  a  moment.  Would  not  those  drunken  ruffians  attempt  to 
beat  and  kill  him  if  he  interfered  ?  No  matter,  the  poor  old 
friend  must  be  rescued.  Bravely  he  stepped  up  to  him. 
1  Peter,  you  were  not  at  the  meeting  this  evening.  Come,  I 
will  go  home  with  you. '  Arm  in  arm  the  two  walked  out  of 
the  bar-room,  through  the  dark  street  to  his  home,  none  of  the 
cowardly  braggarts  daring  to  molest  him.  Little  was  spoken 
as  they  walked  homeward.  How  sorely  the. poor  man  repented 
of  his  fall.  Thus  the  pastor  watched  and  nursed  him  till  the 
end  of  his  labors  among  this  people. ' ' 

During  his  pastorate  at  Lancaster  he  refused  to 
install  a  saloon-keeper  as  elder.  So  profound  was  the 
impression  made  by  this  refusal  that  the  man  changed 
his  business,  prospered  as  a  dealer  in  coal  and  lumber, 
became  a  consistent  member  of  the  church,  spent 
money  and  time  in  promoting  her  interests,  and  died  a 
faithful  Christian.  Such  fruits  go  far  to  justify  what 
some  regarded  as  intemperate  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
temperance. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  had  himself  seen  trouble  and  sorrow, 
and  hence  he  could  sympathize  with  others.  He  knew 
from  experience  the  struggles  of  the  student,  the 
Christian,  the  pastor,  the  parent,  and  for  this  reason 
he  could  console  others  in  their  hours  of  trial,  disap- 
pointment and  bereavement.  And  yet  he  was  habitu- 
ally cheerful  and  buoyant  in  spirit.  To  quote  once 
more  from  the  writer  upon  whom  we  have  so  often 
leaned  :  ' '  Dr.  Harbaugh  possessed  the  happy  talent 
of  looking  at  the  bright  side  of  things.  If  the  silver 


INTRODUCTION.  !7 

lining  on  the  dark  cloud  was  never  so  small,  he  was 
sure  to  see  it  and  enjoy  it.  Few  men  as  earnest  as  he 
are  so  hopeful.  Indeed,  in  practical  matters  his  over- 
sanguine  views  now  and  then  misled  him.  He  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  morbid  ecclesiastical  croakers,  who 
all  the  while  tremble  for  the  ark,  and  are  nervously 
apprehensive  that  God  cannot  take  care  of  His  own 
affairs.  Neither  did  he  waste  his  ammunition  in 
endeavoring  to  attain  the  unattainable."  Only  one 
human  life  has  been  without  spot  and  without  blemish. 
Henry  Harbaugh  did  not  claim  to  be  infallible.  He 
had  his  faults.  Several  things  which  he  did  from  a 
sense  of  duty  have  been  severely  criticised  and  con- 
demned by  his  warmest  friends  and  admirers.  To 
dilate  upon  these  might  please  some  who  delight  to 
feast  upon  the  weaknesses  and  imperfections  of  human 
nature.  Some  men's  tastes  are  like  that  of  the  vulture, 
which  seeks  and  sees  only  carrion,  while  all  the 
beauties  of  the  landscape  lie  open  to  view.  I  prefer 
to  pass  over  any  faults  which  he  may  have  had,  in  the 
kindly  spirit  in  which  he  himself  wrote  of  one  dis- 
missed from  the  ministry  at  a  meeting  of  the  Synod  of 
Reading,  in  1782  : 

' '  What  the  nature  of  this  trouble  was  or  for  what  cause  he 
was  dismissed,  I  do  not  know — nor  was  I  zealous  in  ascertain- 
ing the  cause.  It  inspires  our  heart  with  strange  sadness  when 
we  find  an  unpleasant  savor  gather  around  the  name  of  one, 
especially  a  minister,  who  has  long  been  dead — especially  when 
we  know  him  to  have  been  the  spiritual  guide  of  our  ancestors. 
And  if  the  solemn  records  of  the  past  incidentally  remove  the 
veil  from  his  faults  and  failings,  the  best  we  can  do  is 

'  To  weep  over  them  in  silence  and  close  it  again.'  " 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  foregoing  quotations,  with  the  exception  of  the 
last,  are  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Bailsman, 
whose  articles  in  the  Guardian  belong  to  the  original 
sources  of  information,  and  who  sustained  to  Dr.  Har- 
baugh  a  relation  in  some  respects  similar  to  the  relation 
which  the  beloved  disciple  sustained  to  the  Master. 
Memorial  volumes  have  been  written  of  other  men  who 
accomplished  much  less  for  the  world  and  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ,  and  who  have  far  less  claim  upon  posterity 
than  Dr.  Harbaugh.  The  details  of  a  life  so  rich  in 
good  works  as  his  was,  should  not  be  allowed  to  drop 
into  oblivion.  The  letters  which  he  wrote  at  different 
periods  form  a  very  interesting  study,  because  they 
show  how  a  boy  of  Pennsylvania  German  parentage 
may  gradually  acquire  the  graces  of  style  and  diction 
in  another  tongue.  The  life  which  is  here  given  to 
the  public  is  from  the  pen  of  his  son,  with  whom  it  has 
been  a  labor  of  love.  In  my  judgment,  the  most  glow- 
ing tribute  ever  paid  to  the  genius  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  is 
from  the  pen  of  his  life-long  friend  and  successor  in 
the  chair  of  dogmatic  theology,  Dr.  E.  V.  Gerhart, 
who  has  at  my  request  consented  to  its  publication  in 
this  memorial  volume.*  One  interesting  phase  of  his 
life  is  not  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  this 
biography  has  been  prepared.  I  refer  to  the  gradual 
development  of  his  theological  views,  as  these  may  be 
gathered  from  his  writings  and  his  unpublished  ser- 
mons. This  will  be  a  proper  theme  for  discussion  in 
the  pages  of  the  Reformed  Review.  Finally,  no  apology 
is  needed  for  reprinting  several  of  his  best  poems  in 
English  and  Pennsylvania  German,  for  these  show  him 


INTRODUCTION.  !9 

as  he  was  when  his  inner  life  was  at  its  best.  Every 
other  purpose  has  been  subordinated  to  the  primary 
aim  of  doing  full  justice  to  the  life  and  genius  of  the 
man  whose  biography  is  herewith  offered  to  the  public. 

NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER. 
Harrisburg)  Pa. ,  October  29, 


*I  distinctly  recall  that  while  I  was  a  student  at  Mercersburg,  Dr.  E.  E. 
Higbee,  then  Professor  of  Church  History  and  Exegesis,  cut  short  one  of 
his  lectures,  saying:  "I  must  prepare  to  be  eyes  for  Dr.  Gerhart."  This 
enigmatical  remark  became  intelligible  when,  at  the  unveiling  of  the 
Harbaugh  monument,  he  proceeded  to  read  an  address  which  he  said  was 
from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Gerhart.  From  what  I  recollect  of  the  nature  and 
length  of  the  address  I  feel  warranted  in  asserting  that  it  was  the  address 
herewith  printed  for  the  first  time. 


EXPLANATORY. 


This  brief  memoir  of  my  bosom  friend  was  written 
early  in  1868,  only  several  weeks  after  his  lamented 
death,  when  the  image  of  the  man  was  fresh  and  life- 
like on  the  tablet  of  my  memory.  The  occasion  of 
writing  it  I  do  not  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
thirty-one  years,  recall,  nor  do  I  recollect  what  use 
may  have  been  made  of  it.  All  I  know  definitely  is 
that  the  memoir  was  never  published. 

When,  about  ten  days  ago,  the  Rev.  Dr.  N.  C. 
Schaeffer  came  to  see  me  for  some  information  respect- 
ing Dr.  Harbaugh,  the  interview  called  this  manuscript 
to  my  mind,  which  some  months  before  I  had  discov- 
ered among  my  papers.  After  he  had  read  it,  he  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  the  memoir  would  supply 
what  was  needed  for  the  forthcoming  volume  ;  and  at 
his  request  I  assented  to  its  publication. 

The  portraiture  has  been  reconsidered  and  revised  ; 
but  after  a  deliberate  review  the  prevalent  tone  of  the 
representation  remains  ;  and  I  find  no  reason  to  change 
my  judgment  of  the  man  in  any  particular.  Here  and 
there  some  verbal  modifications  were  necessary  ;  and  at 
some  points  the  language  was  improved.  But  in  all 
respects  the  memoir  reflects  the  conception  of  my 
friend  as  it  was  formed  when  it  was  originally  com- 
mitted to  paper. 

T?    ~\7    C^ 

Theological  Seminary,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
October  2jth,  1899. 


IFn  flUemorfam, 


BY  THE  REV.  EML.  V.  GERHART,  D.D., 


THE  REV.  HENRY  HARBAUGH,  DOCTOR  OF  DIVINITY,  AND 
PROFESSOR  OF  DIDACTIC  AND  PASTORAL  THEOLOGY,  IN 
THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH, 
MERCERSBURG,  PA.  BORN  OCT.  28TH,  A.D.  1817.  DIED 
DEC.  28TH,  1867.  AGED  50  YRS.  AND  2  MO. 


|HE  life  of  a  great  and  good  man, 
who  lives  by  faith  in  Christ  and 
offers  himself  a  sacrifice  to  Him  in 
the  service  of  His  Church,  reveals 
the  truth  and  power  of  divine 
grace.  Growing  up  among  us, 
passing  by  degrees  from  the  imperfection  and  the 
crudeness  of  youth  into  the  vigor  and  ripeness  of 
manhood,  our  judgment  of  his  worth,  whilst  living, 
is  more  or  less  obscured  by  the  memory  of  the 
deficiencies  and  foibles  of  early  life.  So  long  as  he 
moves  before  our  eyes  ;  so  long  as  we  mingle  with 
him  in  the  social  circle,  and  stand  with  him  side  by 
side  in  the  great  conflicts  of  the  church  ;  so  long  as 
we  see  his  beaming  eye,  and  hear  his  clear,  manly 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

~~   r 

voice,  we  enjoy  the  richness  of  his  spirit,  and  lean 
on  his  powerful  mind,  whilst  at  the  same  time  we 
may  now  and  then  differ  with  him  in  opinion  and 
find  fault  with  his  conduct.  We  acknowledge  his 
intellectual  superiority  and  his  sterling  moral  excel- 
lencies, yet  he  seems  to  be  a  man  such  as  we  are  in 
character,  and  in  some  respects  we  may  even  think 
him  to  be  inferior  to  ourselves.  Thus  it  comes  that 
so  long  as  he  goes  in  and  out  among  us  we  appre- 
ciate his  virtues  but  partially,  and  fail  to  recognize 
fully  the  blessing  of  God  in  bestowing  on  the 
church  so  precious  a  gift. 

But  when  the  inscrutable  providence  of  God 
suddenly  closes  the  life  of  such  a  man  in  prema- 
ture death  ;  when  on  a  bleak  day  in  mid-winter  we 
are  called  upon  to  carry  his  lifeless  remains  away 
from  his  study  and  the  embraces  of  his  family,  and 
lay  them  in  the  cold  grave  to  moulder  into  dust, 
our  hopes  of  future  service  vanish,  our  joy  is 
turned  into  sorrow,  and  we  wake  up,  as  it  were,  to 
a  sense  of  great  and  irreparable  loss  ;  and  we  are 
prepared  as  we  were  not  before  to  estimate  the 
genius  of  the  man,  the  zeal  of  the  Christian,  the 
fidelity  of  the  minister,  and  the  ability  of  the 
theologian,  as  these  qualities  really  met  in  his  life 
and  character. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
Theology  in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
(German)  Reformed  Church  at  Mercersburg, 


IN  MBMORIAM.  25 

Pennsylvania,  did  not  belong  to  the  ordinary  class 
of  educated  men.  Whatever  the  position  he 
occupied,  or  in  whatever  relation  he  stood,  he  dis- 
tinguished himself.  He  stood  out  above  the 
generality  of  men  as  a  thinker  and  writer,  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  as  a  debater  on  the  floor  of 
synod,  as  a  representative  minister  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  as  a  leader  of  the  people.  This  was 
seen  and  felt  throughout  the  entire  Reformed 
Church,  East  and  West ;  and  was  acknowledged 
also  by  all,  outside  of  her  communion,  who  knew 
him  or  read  the  productions  of  his  prolific  pen. 
Hence  the  deep  and  peculiar  sense  of  loss  and  of 
sorrow  that  fills  the  hearts  of  ministers  and  people 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  church. 
Hence,  too,  it  is  becoming  that  we  reflect  on  his 
character,  on  his  extraordinary  activity,  on  his 
genial  and  earnest  spirit.  It  is  due  to  his  memory. 
It  responds  to  the  general  sentiment  of  propriety, 
and  will  be  profitable  to  ourselves. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  challenges  our  attention  as  a  man. 
Born  in  a  Pennsylvania  German  family  consisting 
of  twelve  children,  of  whom  he  was  the  tenth  ; 
brought  up  on  a  farm  at  the  foot  of  the  South 
Mountain  ;  trained  by  an  honest  and  industrious 
father,  and  by  a  gentle,  pious,  and  noble  mother  ; 
moulded  by  the  customs,  manners  and  habits  pre- 
vailing in  the  social  life  of  our  German  popula- 
tion ;  baptized  into  the  communion  of  Christ's 


26  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

mystical  body  ;  carefully  instructed  in  the  doctrines 
and  duties  of  our  holy  religion,  and  gifted  with  a 
rare  combination  of  extraordinary  natural  endow- 
ments, he  grew  up  into  youth  and  manhood  in  the 
element  of  German  Gemuethlichkeit,  sanctified  by 
the  grace  of  the  Christian  Church.  He  realized  in 
his  person,  in  body,  mind  and  spirit,  the  richness 
and  beauty  of  the  German  character,  as  strength- 
ened by  genius  and  ennobled  by  living  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

He  was  a  representative  man.  This  he  was 
in  relation  to  the  race.  The  true  idea  of  a 
man,  or  the  ideal  type  of  manhood,  was  indi- 
vidualized in  his  spirit  and  character.  So  it 
is  in  a  measure  in  every  man.  But  in  Dr. 
Harbaugh  the  individualization  answers  more 
fully  to  the  generic  type  than  is  common,  even 
among  devoted  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Nature 
and  feeling  were  held  subordinate  to  understand- 
ing;  understanding  to  reason;  reason,  to  faith. 
Mind  ruled  the  body  ;  spirit  ruled  the  mind ;  and 
Christ  ruled  the  spirit.  He  realized  the  normal 
order  of  the  manifold  powers  of  a  man  ;  not  indeed 
perfectly  ;  but  in  such  a  degree  of  approach  to  per- 
fection that  the  reality  could  not  fail  to  command 
admiration  and  profound  regard.  He  moved  in  the 
sphere  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good  ;  he 
made  all  outward  objects  and  earthly  relations  sub- 
servient to  these  spiritual  ends  ;  yet  he  was  tender- 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


27 


hearted,  and  in  quick  sympathy  even  with  the 
trifling  bodily  wants  of  little  children. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  possessed  great  facility  in  acquir- 
ing knowledge  ;  the  knowledge  of  men  and  things, 
of  literature,  science  and  philosophy.  He  digested 
rapidly  what  he  learned,  and  rewrought  it  for  him- 
self. More  active  than  receptive,  no  fact,  sugges- 
tion, or  thought  was  laid  on  the  shelf  of  his  mem- 
ory like  a  labeled  fossil ;  but  he  penetrated  the  in- 
most sense  of  acquired  knowledge  freely.  Breath- 
ing into  it  his  own  warmth  and  freshness,  and 
weaving  for  it  a  garment  from  the  rich  resources  of 
his  genius,  he  reproduced  it  in  a  form  answerable 
to  the  peculiar  type  of  his  own  spirit. 

True  genius  has  two  sides.  On  the  one  hand,  it 
discovers  new  facts,  new  principles,  produces  new 
ideas,  and  moves  with  singular  freshness  and 
vivacity  among  the  common  facts  and  ordinary 
relations  of  life ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  looks  with 
keen  vision  into  the  deep  and  most  general  laws 
of  God  as  these  permeate  and  govern  nature  and 
society.  The  new  is  bound  by  the  old,  the  surface 
facts  by  unchanging  law.  Beholding  the  most  gen- 
eral laws  and  the  broadest  relations  which  inform 
the  constitution  of  the  world,  genius  apprehends 
particular  events  and  single  things,  not  in  a  super- 
ficial or  arbitrary  manner,  but  as  they  grow  forth 
from  universal  powers.  Hence  come  new  and 
striking  views  of  common  events  and  of  well-known 


28  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

facts — new  to  less-favored  men,  who  fail  to  descend 
to  the  root  of  things,  and  therefore  judge  according 
to  transient  manifestations,  not  according  to  right- 
eous judgment. 

Both  these  forms  of  action  were  developed  in  the 
genius  of  our  sainted  brother.  With  what  freedom 
he  walked  into  the  inner,  hidden  sanctuary  of 
truth  !  Yet  with  what  delight  he  looked  at  single 
objects  as  enshrining  general  laws.  How  nice  his 
perception  of  the  beautiful  and  sublime ;  and  how 
keen  his  sense  of  the  incongruous  and  ridiculous. 
The  strong  current  of  profound  thought  mingled 
with  an  unceasing  flow  of  wit  and  humor. 

The  mind  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  however,  was  no 
less  practical  than  profound.  A  strong  will,  energy 
of  purpose,  intense  and  persevering  activity  were 
among  his  leading  characteristics.  Indeed,  so 
prominent  were  these  traits  that,  to  a  superficial 
observer,  they  seemed  to  be  absorbing  and  almost 
exclusive.  His  thoughts  did  not  sleep  nor  slum- 
ber, but  they  passed  over  into  resolves,  plans,  and 
pursuits,  and  his  plans  were  realized  in  acts  and 
deeds. 

As  a  consequence  he  was  always  at  work.  When 
he  conceived  a  thought,  he  began  to  revolve  and 
mature  it ;  and  whilst  maturing  it,  he  brought  it 
forth  in  outward  form,  and  it  gained  full  expres- 
sion. No  sooner  had  he  accomplished  one  self- 
imposed  task  than  he  was  already  engaged  in  pre- 


IN  MEMORIAM.  29 

paring  for  another.  Nor  did  his  labors  simply 
succeed  one  another.  Various  kinds  of  work  were 
upon  his  hands  at  the  same  time.  Visitation  of 
the  sick  and  the  poor  ;  the  preparation  of  a  sermon  ; 
the  writing  of  a  book,  or  of  an  article  for  the 
Review  or  for  the  Messenger,  or  for  some  other 
periodical ;  attendance  upon  the  meeting  of  a 
committee  or  of  an  ecclesiastical  body,  and  the 
composition  of  a  German  or  English  poem  were 
all  receiving  attention  during  the  same  month  and 
even  during  the  same  week,  if  not  sometimes  on 
the  same  day.  The  secret  of  such  various  activ- 
ities is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  always  read- 
ing, always  thinking,  always  writing,  always 
working,  and,  I  might  add,  always  joking. 
Among  all  my  acquaintances  I  know  not  a  man 
who  united  such  intense  activity,  such  earnestness 
of  character,  with  such  extraordinary  geniality  and 
playfulness  of  spirit.  God  intended,  he  would 
say,  that  a  man  should  laugh  as  well  as  pray  ;  for 
there  are  certain  muscles  of  the  face  which  he 
never  uses  but  when  he  laughs.  Nor  were  his 
multitudinous  activities  periodical.  He  labored 
day  and  night,  from  week  to  week,  from  month  to 
month,  and  from  year  to  year,  with  indefatigable 
zeal,  gathering  fresh  energy  with  every  accom- 
plished work  for  a  new  undertaking.  Even  his 
short  seasons  of  recreation  in  July  and  August 
were  not  a  cessation  of  work,  but  only  a  change. 


3o  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Whilst  entering  with  keen  zest  into  the  sports  of  a 
fishing  excursion,  a  huckleberry  party,  or  a  moun- 
tain ramble,  he  was  still  studying.  Beneath  the 
play  of  fancy  there  was  a  deep  undercurrent  of 
reflection.  And  he  would  write  as  well  as  play 
and  think.  Sitting  down  under  a  tree  by  a  stream, 
he  would  take  out  a  blank  book,  which  it  was  his 
rule  to  carry  in  his  pocket,  and  write  the  outline 
of  a  sermon  perhaps,  or  the  stanza  of  a  poem,  or 
the  plan  of  a  book,  or  a  few  seed-thoughts.  That 
was  his  chaos,  as  he  called  it,  on  which  his  creative 
mind  wrought  afterwards,  and  brought  forth  order 
and  beauty.  Some  of  his  best  poems  and  prose 
productions  had  their  beginning  in  this  chaotic 
jumble  of  ideas.  Indeed,  I  may  add  here,  that 
such  was  his  general  practice.  Instead  of  develop- 
ing and  maturing  an  idea  or  train  of  thought  in 
his  mind,  he  put  down  his  thoughts  at  once — 
crude,  half-formed,  and  half-expressed  thoughts — 
on  paper  confusedly,  and  then,  brooding  over  this 
chaotic  mass,  as  in  the  beginning  the  spirit  of  God 
was  brooding  upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  his  mind 
wrought  it  into  logical  form  and  order. 

Yet  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  rarely  in  a  hurry.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  great  deal  of  leisure.  A  visitor 
was  ever  welcomed  to  his  study  with  a  smile,  and 
entertained  in  free  and  humorous  conversation. 
Nor  was  he  given  to  absence  of  mind.  Whilst  he 
moved  in  the  sphere  of  philosophic  thinking,  he  was 


IN  MBMORIAM.  3I 

a  close  observer  of  society  and  nature,  and  alive  to 
all  that  was  going  on  around  him  in  church  and 
state.  His  senses  were  as  susceptible  to  the  exter- 
nal world  as  if  he  never  entered  into  the  inner 
region  of  metaphysical  truth  ;  and  he  descended  into 
the  hidden  depths  of  the  ideal  world  with  as  much 
freedom  as  if  he  were  indifferent  to  the  objects  of 
sense. 

Nor  did  Dr.  Harbaugh  concern  himself  about  a 
system  of  working.  An  external  system,  he  said, 
was  a  hindrance.  What  was  to  be  done,  he  did  ; 
he  did  it  at  once  ;  he  did  it  by  day  or  by  night, 
morning,  noon  or  evening,  just  as  the  occasion  met 
him,  whether  in  the  best  mood  or  not.  Nor  was  he 
noted  as  an  early  riser.  Though  there  was  nothing 
which  he  was  less  than  a  sluggard,  yet  he  did  not 
observe  Franklin's  rule.  He  would  correct  Dr. 
Franklin  facetiously.  Go  to  bed  early,  he  said,  and 
get  up  late,  but  then  keep  awake  all  day.  Here 
was  one  secret  of  his  noble  and  useful  life.  He  was 
awake,  in  mind  and  body,  always  awake.  He 
suffered  no  power,  neither  mental  nor  moral  faculty, 
nor  bodily  sense,  to  go  to  sleep. 

The  energies  of  his  will,  the  activity  of  his  mind, 
and  the  conduct  of  his  life  were  governed  by  his 
conscience.  No  one  had  a  higher  sense  of  honor. 
Nor  was  any  one  less  capable  of  doing  what  was 
mean  or  ignoble.  Yet  it  was  not  honor  so  much  as 
right  and  duty  that  inspired  and  controlled  him. 


32  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

He  must  do  right  regardless  of  consequences.  What 
had  he  to  do  with  consequences  ?  he  would  ask. 
Consequences  belong  to  God.  Hence  he  was  as 
firm  as  a  rock.  He  was  not  self-willed  and  stub- 
born, as  some  have  alleged.  If  approached  on 
moral  grounds  he  was  as  docile  and  tractable  as  a 
child  ;  but  if  you  would  attempt  to  move  him  from 
his  purpose  by  any  considerations  of  policy,  you 
would  not  only  fail  utterly,  but  excite  his  intense 
indignation,  if  not  call  down  upon  your  head  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath. 

You  may  say  that  he  sometimes  erred  or  did 
wrong.  That  may  be  so.  His  best  friends  some- 
times differed  with  him.  But  he  did  not  do  wrong 
as  wrong.  What  I  or  you  might  think  was  wrong, 
he  firmly  believed  to  be  right.  Convince  him  that 
he  was  wrong,  and  he  would  at  once  abandon  any 
cherished  purpose  ;  for  he  would  rather  cut  off  his 
right  hand  than  commit  a  known  wrong.  But  fail 
to  do  that,  fail  to  convince  him,  and  you  might  as 
well  try  to  move  Gibraltar.  This  was  universally 
felt  and  acknowledged  by  all  who  understood  the 
high-toned  moral  character  of  the  man.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  he  commanded  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  his  enemies  no  less  than  the  affection 
and  devotion  of  his  friends.  For  Dr.  Harbaugh 
was  a  man  that  had  enemies,  and  bitter  ones  too. 
Clear  and  uncompromising  in  judgment,  candid  and 
straightforward  in  speech,  conscientious  in  all  his 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


33 


conduct,  he  stood  up  for  right  and  truth  in  the  face 
of  any  opposition,  and  dealt  blows  upon  corruption 
and  vice  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Such  a  man  could 
not  be  at  peace  with  all  classes  of  persons  in  the 
world  or  in  the  church.  L/ike  those  of  his  Master, 
his  words  were  a  two-edged  sword. 

This  exhibition  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  genius,  his 
practical  activity  and  moral  character,  implies  the 
presence  of  another  distinguishing  element  which 
quickened  every  attribute  of  his  nature.  He  was 
endowed  with  deep,  intense  feeling.  He  felt  what 
he  thought ;  he  felt  what  he  resolved ;  he  felt 
what  he  said  and  did.  He  had  no  dead  thoughts  ; 
no  icy  purposes.  He  could  not  maintain  the  right 
and  enforce  truth  in  dry,  logical  formulas.  He 
could  not  expose  error  and  denounce  sin  with  com- 
posure. Rising  from  the  depths  of  his  warm  heart 
his  thoughts  glowed,  and  his  words  were  like  live 
coals.  Wherever  they  fell  they  kindled  a  fire. 

Whilst  he  never  spared  dishonesty,  corruption  or 
vice,  he  was  nevertheless  tender  in  his  address. 
Full  of  kindly  sympathy  with  all  classes  of  men, 
he  never  designedly  wounded  the  feelings  of  any 
one. 

When  he  spoke,  the  spontaneous  flow  of  burn- 
ing thoughts  touched  responsive  chords  in  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers,  and  drew  them  into  intimate 
communion  with  himself.  They  either  felt  with 
him,  and  he  carried  them  along,  with  free  consent 


34 


UFK  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


and  delighted  in  the  path  of  his  speech,  or  they 
felt  hostile  to  him,  and  followed,  hovering  about 
his  track,  only  to  resist  and  to  condemn. 

The  harmonious  union  of  these  vigorous  and 
highly  developed  mental,  moral,  and  emotional  ele- 
ments of  his  person  and  life,  distinguished  Dr. 
Harbaugh  from  among  men  generally  as  one  in 
whom  God's  idea  of  manhood  was  realized  above 
the  common  measure,  and  constituted  him  a  leader 
of  thought  among  educated  and  thoughtful  men, 
and  a  leader  of  practical  religious  activity  among 
all  classes  of  practical  men.  He  represented  them 
in  truth.  The  faithful  echo  of  their  half-conscious 
wants,  he  voiced  their  thoughts  and  desires.  For 
this  reason  they  heard  him  gladly,  trusted  him 
without  reserve,  and  loved  him  like  a  brother. 

But  his  character  as  a  man,  true  as  it  was  to  the 
generic  type,  was  just  as  distinctive  of  the  national 
life  in  which  he  stood.  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  a  Ger- 
man ;  not  an  Englishman,  nor  a  Scotchman,  much 
less  a  Frenchman  ;  but  a  German,  an  American 
German,  from  head  to  foot.  The  blood  of  a  Penn- 
sylvania farmer  flowed  in  his  veins,  and  with  his 
mother's  milk  he  drank  in  das  tiefe  gemuethliche 
Wesen  of  the  German  farming  population.  In  all 
his  moral  and  religious  instincts  he  was  one  of 
themselves.  He  understood  their  prejudices,  lived 
in  their  modes  of  thought,  shared  their  feelings, 
and  sympathized  with  them  in  all  their  religious 


IN  MEMORIAM.  35 

and  educational  needs.  He  loved  their  language, 
their  peculiar  homely  dialect,  and  rescued  it,  as 
Burns  did  the  Gaelic  dialect,  from  death  and 
oblivion  by  the  baptism  of  his  genius.  Of  all  the 
sons  of  the  German  farmers  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
have  sought  the  halls  of  learning  and  entered  the 
sphere  of  the  liberal  professions,  he  is  the  first  one, 
that,  seeing  the  capabilities  of  a  dialect,  before  only 
neglected  and  despised,  and  laying  hold  of  it  with 
new-creating  energy,  wrought  it  into  the  genuine 
forms  of  living  poetry  and  breathed  into  these 
forms  the  genial  spirit  of  their  own  social  life,  thus 
at  once  ennobling  the  dialect  by  consecrating  it  to 
the  spiritual  ends  of  fine  art,  and  clothing  it  with 
honor  and  immortality.  To  him  belongs  the  honor 
of  being,  as  he  has  been  called,  the  poet  of  the 
American  German  people.  He  is  their  true  repre- 
sentative man,  the  representative  of  their  genius 
on  the  elevated  plane  of  religion,  science,  and  art. 
The  distinguishing  attributes  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's 
personality  as  a  man  underlay  and  modified  his 
character  as  a  Christian  and  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel.  Nature  is  the  basis  and  occasion  of  grace. 
Grace,  in  turn,  takes  up  nature  into  its  bosom, 
creates  and  fashions  it  anew.  Grace  realizes  and 
perfects  the  idea  and  purpose  of  nature.  In  this 
relation,  pre-eminently  did  the  personality  of  the 
man  stand  to  the  character  of  the  Christian  and 
the  minister  in  the  life  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harbaugh. 


36  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  most  prominent  trait  in  his  Christian  char- 
acter, was  devotion  to  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  His  mystical  body,  the  Church ; — devotion  to 
Christ  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  really  present 
and  living  in  His  mystical  body  on  earth  through- 
out all  the  ages  and  in  the  midst  of  all  the  contra- 
dictions and  convulsions  of  time ; — a  devotion  that 
was  intelligent,  intense,  exclusive,  all-absorbing, 
steady  and  unfaltering,  always  fresh  and  always 
vigorous.  Devotion  to  Christ  and  devotion  to  the 
Church  were  inseparable.  The  Church  was  the 
original  human  life  created  anew  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  perfected  in  the  person  of  Christ ;  perpetu- 
ated by  the  same  divine  agency  through  the  sacra- 
ment of  Holy  Baptism  ;  nourished  and  matured  by 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  Communion 
of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Son  ;  existing  on 
earth,  in  time  and  space,  in  the  form  of  an  organized 
kingdom,  which  as  to  its  constitution  is  both  divine 
and  human,  as  to  its  manifestation  is  both  visible 
and  invisible.  It  was  the  true  and  only  Noachian 
Ark  to  which  all  men  must  flee  for  deliverance  from 
the  overwhelming  curse  of  sin.  To  labor  in  the 
Church  and  for  the  Church,  was,  for  him,  to  labor 
for  Christ.  The  notion  that  a  man  may  either 
come  to  Christ,  or  labor  for  Christ,  apart  from  and 
outside  of  the  Church,  was  a  delusion,  fraught  with 
tendencies  towards  infidelity. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  37 

Such  devotion  satisfied  his  heart  and  conscience. 
To  his  faith  Christ  and  His  Church  were  not  merely 
scriptural  doctrines,  or  beautiful  ideas,  but  they 
were  substantial,  living  realities  ;  the  most  real  of 
all  realities  ;  the  most  certain  and  glorious  of  all 
certain  and  glorious  things.  Christ  was  present  and 
living  in  His  kingdom  ;  He  was  the  very  presence 
of  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  the  Son  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  He  was  the  consummate  revelation 
of  the  Creator  in  the  perfection  of  the  creature,  and 
the  reconciliation  of  a  just  and  holy  God  with  a 
fallen  and  sinful  race.  This  most  comprehensive 
fact,  seen  by  the  eye  of  faith  as  a  present,  living 
reality,  authenticated  itself  as  the  most  certain 
truth  to  the  consciousness  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  and 
satisfied  his  deepest  needs  as  a  dependent  creature, 
as  a  man,  as  a  thinker,  as  a  moral  agent,  and  as  a 
sinner.  Convinced  that  the  acts  of  God  could  not 
be  lies  any  more  than  the  words  of  God,  he  believed 
that  in  baptism  God  sealed  to  him  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  and  the  quickening  of  the  new  life  in  Christ ; 
and  that  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  Christ  nourished 
the  new  life  of  faith  by  the  communication  of 
Himself. 

Apprehending  Jesus  Christ  in  this  light,  Dr. 
Harbaugh  believed  in  his  divine  Lord  and  Saviour 
with  a  faith  that  enlisted  all  the  energies  of  his 
will,  every  faculty  of  his  intellect,  all  the  feelings 
of  his  heart,  and  no  less  also  all  the  powers  of  his 


38  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

body.  Seeing  in  Him  the  original  principle  of  the 
natural  creation  and  the  living  fountain  of  grace ; 
seeing  in  Him  the  final  end  and  purpose  of  nature, 
of  providence  and  redemption  ;  the  Head  over  all 
things  in  Heaven  and  on  earth  unto  the  Church  ; 
and  believing  himself  to  be  by  grace  a  living 
member  of  Christ,  and  an  heir  with  Him  of  the 
ineffable  glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father 
before  the  world  was ;  he  was  moved  from  within, 
as  by  the  spontaneous  impulses  of  his  being,  not 
only  to  acknowledge  the  supreme  authority  and 
obey  the  commandments  of  Christ,  but  to  live  unto 
Him  with  rejoicing ;  to  think  and  study  in  His 
service  ;  to  write  and  preach  in  His  service  ;  to 
labor  and  toil,  to  deny  himself  and  endure  in 
His  service  ;  concerned  chiefly  that  the  glorious 
Kingdom  of  the  Father  might  come  with  new 
power,  and  that  he  might  be  faithful  to  his  Lord 
and  Master  unto  the  end. 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  sound,  yet  it  is  but  the 
simple  truth  to  say,  that  Dr.  Harbaugh  had  but 
little,  or  no  concern  about  his  personal  salvation. 
He  took  God  at  His  word.  He  believed  Christ  and 
His  salvation  to  be  sealed  to  Him  in  the  sacra- 
mental acts  of  God  ;  and  he  believed  this  so  firmly 
that  the  dark  shadows  of  doubt  or  fear  rarely,  if 
ever,  disturbed  his  peace.  His  was  the  objective 
assurance  of  salvation.  He  did  not  look  into  him- 
self for  the  evidence  of  forgiveness.  He  did  not 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


39 


analyze  his  spiritual  feelings  to  find  out  whether  he 
was  a  Christian,  just  as  he  did  not  analyze  his  nat- 
ural feelings  to  find  out  whether  he  was  a  man. 
To  him  one  process  was  as  vain  as  the  other.  But 
relying  on  the  word  and  sacramental  acts  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  can  neither  lie  nor  deceive,  he  felt  him- 
self standing  as  on  an  immovable  rock,  and  he  looked 
forward  to  his  resurrection  from  the  dead  and  his 
ultimate  glorification  in  heaven  as  certain  and  nec- 
essary facts,  rejoicing  in  hope  with  unspeakable  joy. 
As  the  objective  truth  determined  the  nature  of 
his  personal  piety,  so  did  it  exert  a  determining  in- 
fluence on  his  official  character  and  conduct  as  a 
Christian  Minister.  The  distinguishing  trait  of 
his  ministerial  character  may  be  expressed  by  say- 
ing that  he  magnified  his  office.  As  the  Church, 
according  to  his  view,  was  a  present  reality,  a  living 
constitution  in  whose  veins  flowed  the  very  life  of 
the  God-Man,  he  held  that  in  the  act  of  ordination 
a  man  becomes  an  office-bearer  in  this  spiritual 
kingdom,  invested  with  supernatural  authority  and 
power.  The  minister  represents  and  perpetuates 
the  three-fold  office  of  Christ  in  the  Church  for  the 
salvation  of  man.  As  Christ  is  the  chief  Prophet, 
the  minister  teaches  in  His  Name  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Christ.  As  Christ  is  the  great  High  Priest  who 
offered  Himself  on  the  cross  an  all-sufficient  sacri- 
fice for  the  sin  of  the  world,  the  minister  proclaims 
and  dispenses  the  perennial  virtue  of  this  one  all 


4o 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


sufficient  sacrifice.  As  Christ  is  the  only  true  King, 
the  minister  rules  by  His  authority  and  according 
to  His  will  in  the  Church,  guiding,  protecting,  and 
defending,  as  the  rightful  under-shepherd,  the  flock 
entrusted  to  his  supervision. 

It  was  in  this  sense  that  Dr.  Harbaugh  believed 
himself  to  be  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Nor  did 
he  suppose  that  the  office  of  the  ministry,  being 
representative  of  Christ,  detracted  from  the  su- 
preme dignity  of  the  divine  Head.  As  the  min- 
ister mediates  the  Word  of  Christ  in  teaching,  and 
the  law  as  the  will  of  Christ  in  governing,  so  he 
believed  that  the  minister  mediates  the  virtue  of  the 
sacrifice  and  resurrection  of  Christ  in  performing 
priestly  functions.  To  represent  and  act  for  Christ 
as  the  only  High  Priest  did  not  involve  a  denial  of 
His  supremacy  and  all-sufficiency,  any  more  than  it 
did  to  represent  and  act  for  Christ  as  the  Chief 
Prophet  and  Teacher.  On  the  contrary,  he  believed 
that  in  magnifying  his  office  as  a  minister  in  obedi- 
ence to  divine  authority,  he  exalted  the  dignity  and 
intensified  the  sense  of  the  reality  of  the  original 
office  as  belonging  exclusively  to  Christ  Himself. 
For  in  exalting  the  ministerial  office  to  its  true 
relation  to  Christ,  he  brought  nigh  to  the  sense 
and  consciousness  of  men,  the  living,  ever-present 
virtue  and  the  peculiar  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
only  Prophet,  Priest  and  King. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  41 

Of  this  view  of  his  office  received  from  Christ  by 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery,  the 
spontaneous  effect  was  to  humble  him  in  view  of 
his  great  unworthiness ;  to  fill  his  heart  with  joy 
that  he  had  been  counted  worthy  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  mysteries  of  grace  ;  to  inspire  him  with 
ardent  and  unquenchable  zeal  for  his  Master  and 
his  Master's  kingdom  ;  to  impart  strength,  comfort 
and  hope  amid  his  weaknesses  and  his  numerous 
discouragements  ;  to  make  him  fearless,  bold,  and 
uncompromising  in  the  face  of  subtle  wickedness 
and  hydra-headed  errors  that  arose  in  church  and 
state,  in  philosophy,  theology,  and  practical  life  ;  to 
impel  him  to  persevering  activity  in  the  service  of 
the  church,  and  sustain  him  under  the  various  ex- 
hausting labors  which  he  performed  with  unwaver- 
ing resolution  from  month  to  month,  from  year  to 
year,  in  the  spirit  of  genuine  self-denial  and  self- 
sacrifice,  for  the  good  of  men  and  the  glory  of 
Christ  ;  and  to  keep  his  mind  calm,  composed, 
cheerful,  in  the  midst  of  the  vicissitudes,  bereave- 
ments, sorrows,  and  conflicts  of  his  ministerial 
career. 

The  want  of  time  does  not  permit  me  to  enter 
into  details,  else  I  might  speak  of  his  implicit  faith 
in  Holy  Scripture  as  the  inspired  word  of  God  ;  of 
his  ability  and  freshness  as  a  preacher ;  of  his 
fidelity  to  Christ  in  expounding  His  word  without 
fear  or  favor  ;  of  his  fidelity  to  the  people  in  pro- 


42  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

claiming  the  entire  Gospel  in  all  its  fulness  ;  of 
his  sympathy  as  a  pastor  with  the  poor  and  the 
sick,  the  widow  and  the  orphan ;  of  his  diligence 
in  the  catechization  of  the  children  and  youth  of 
the  church  ;  of  his  lively  and  constant  interest  in 
young  men,  and  his  unwearying  efforts  to  arouse 
them  to  high  resolves  and  stimulate  them  to  noble 
endeavors  ;  of  his  devotion  to  the  churchly  idea  of 
parochial  schools ;  of  his  steady  zeal  in  supporting 
all  the  educational  and  missionary  operations  of 
the  church  ;  of  his  profound  sense  of  the  solemn 
importance  of  higher  institutions  of  learning  in 
their  relation  to  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  ;  and 
of  his  earnestness,  tact,  wisdom  and  modesty  as  a 
conscientious  leader  on  the  floor  of  classis  and 
synod. 

But  waiving  the  consideration  of  these  particu- 
lars, I  pass  on  to  notice  the  position  and  character 
of  Dr.  Harbaugh  as  a  Protestant  theologian  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  Viewing  him  under  this  aspect, 
we  come  to  the  highest  point  of  the  development  of 
his  spiritual  life.  His  genius  and  energy,  his  faith 
and  piety,  his  intellectual  and  practical  activity  ; — 
all  meet  and  culminate  in  the  Christian  theologian. 

Awakened  to  a  clear  perception  of  the  rational- 
istic and  disintegrating  tendencies  of  modern  Pro- 
testantism by  the  severe  criticisms  of  his  revered 
teachers,  the  Rev.  Drs.  Neviu  and  Schaff,  and  led 
by  them,  by  organic  methods  of  thought,  into  the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  4£ 

study  of  the  theology  of  the  Reformation  in  its 
relation  to  the  theology  of  the  post-Apostolic  and 
Nicene  periods  of  history,  Dr.  Harbaugh  came  to  a 
definite  apprehension  of  the  truth  that  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  next  to  the  written  Word,  stands  as  the 
principal  rule  of  faith,  possessing  fundamental 
significance  for  Protestantism,  for  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  for  all  subsequent  periods  of  history. 
In  the  light  of  living  faith  in  Christ,  he  studied 
with  a  due  measure  of  independence  the  entire 
range  of  Protestant  theology,  L,utheran  and 
Reformed.  Passing  beyond  the  Reformation 
into  those  fruitful  periods  which  solved  many 
fundamental  problems  of  the  Christian  faith,. 
he  studied  the  issues  involved  in  the  great 
controversies  of  the  early  church ;  he  repro- 
duced the  ruling  primitive  ideas  concerning  the 
nature  of  Christianity  and  the  nature  of  the  church, 
concerning  the  ministry,  church  government,  wor- 
ship, and  the  sacraments ;  then,  qualified  by  such 
knowledge  and  sustained  by  a  candid  exegesis,  he, 
in  the  exercise  of  his  own  judgment,  but  with  a 
childlike  spirit,  studied  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament.  Standing  on  this  scriptural 
and  catholic  ground,  he  followed  the  developments 
of  the  medieval  age,  and  judged  of  the  errors  in 
doctrine  and  corruptions  in  practice  in  the  Roman 
Church. 


44  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

As  the  result  of  these  extensive  and  faithful 
historical  studies,  conducted  under  the  leadership 
of  those  whom  he  always  loved  to  acknowledge  as 
guides,  yet  conducted  in  his  own  way  with  a  free 
and  independent  mind,  Dr.  Harbaugh  became  a 
broad,  manifold  theologian,  uniting  in  an  organic 
whole  what  to  his  opponents  appeared  to  be  antag- 
onistic elements.  For  him  the  governing  force  of 
sound  theological  thought  was  the  objective  order 
of  truth  embodied  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  of  which 
the  central,  animating  principle  was  the  Person  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Studying 
the  written  Word  from  this  point  of  view,  his 
theology  became  catholic  as  well  as  Scriptural, 
Protestant  no  less  than  catholic,  and  Reformed  as 
well  as  Protestant ;  and  it  stood  opposed  alike  to 
infidelity  and  to  false  Biblicism,  to  Romanism  and 
Gnosticism,  to  one-sided  metaphysical  Calvinism 
and  humanitarian  Arminianism,  to  lifeless  orthodoxy 
and  arrogant  rationalism,  to  a  false  unionism  and 
narrow  bigotry,  to  cold  formalism  and  self-inflated 
fanaticism. 

The  theology  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  therefore  pri- 
marily catholic,  then  Protestant,  and  finally  Re- 
formed. The  Heidelberg  Catechism  he  subordi- 
nated, as  it  subordinates  itself,  to  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  and  the  Apostles'  Creed  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, Scripture  being  held  to  be  the  ultimate  critical 
standard  and  the  only  norm  of  faith.  But  he 


IN  MBMORIAM.  45 

studied  Scripture  in  the  light  of  the  Creed,  and  the 
Creed  by  the  aid  of  the  Catechism  as  well  as  in  the 
light  of  history.  With  him,  the  chief  object  of 
interest  and  devotion  was  the  Church  catholic,  the 
one  mystical  body  of  Christ.  To  promote  her  pros- 
perity and  glory  he  lived  and  labored.  No  other 
object  on  earth  did  he  consider  worthy  of  his  time 
and  services.  He  was  a  Protestant  because  he  be- 
lieved Protestantism  to  be  a  necessary  and  valid 
development  of  the  original  life  of  Catholicism  ;  and 
he  was  Reformed  because  the  Reformed  Church,  as 
regards  her  theology,  government,  and  type  of 
piety,  was  the  better  side  of  Protestantism.  Under 
this  view  we  may  call  him  a  Reformed  theologian 
of  the  Church  catholic  ;  or  a  firm  opponent  of 
Romanism  on  the  basis  of  the  Reformed  catholic 
faith. 

The  natural  result  of  such  a  comprehensive  yet 
definite  theology  was  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Dr. 
Harbaugh.  His  opponents  may  draw  the  infer- 
ence, and  try  to  do  so  logically,  that  he  did  not 
love  the  Reformed  Church  and  was  not  devoted  to 
her  prosperity  as  a  distinct  branch  of  the  Protes- 
tant Reformation.  But  no  inference  could  be  less 
logical  and  less  in  accordance  with  fact.  Whilst 
the  church  universal  was  to  him  the  chief  object  of 
interest  and  devotion,  he  believed,  as  a  legitimate 
consequence  of  his  Protestant  faith  in  catholic 
truth,  that  he  could  accomplish  this  chief  end  most 


46  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

effectually  by  cultivating  the  original  life  and  faith 
of  the  church  after  the  type  and  in  the  communion 
of  Protestantism.  As  a  legitimate  consequence  of 
his  Reformed  faith  in  Protestant  truth,  he  believed 
also  that  he  could  promote  the  interests  of  Christ's 
Kingdom  in  the  sphere  of  Protestantism  most 
effectually  by  living  in  the  communion  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  and  devoting  all  his  energies  of 
body  and  mind  to  her  progress  and  triumphs. 
Nay  more.  His  life  was  even  more  specific  still. 
He  eould  not  live  for  the  Church  by  dissipating 
his  energies  among  vague  generalities.  He  could 
do  so  only  by  consecrating  himself,  his  ministry, 
his  studies,  his  warm  heart,  to  the  church  of  his 
American  German  fathers. 

Accordingly  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  not  only  Re- 
formed and  German  Reformed,  but  also  American 
German  Reformed.  That  is,  he  devoted  himself 
specifically  to  the  advancement  of  theology  in  the 
German  church  planted  in  America  by  the  Re- 
formed fathers. 

His  extraordinary  activity  and  numerous  labors 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  what  I  have  asserted.  He 
loved  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  He  studied  its 
origin,  its  theology,  its  history ;  he  vindicated  it 
against  false  interpretation  and  unwarrantable  op- 
position. He  preached  series  of  sermons  on  it. 
The  last  work  of  his  life,  though  not  published,  is 
a  complete  commentary  on  the  catechism,  contain- 


IN  MEMORIAM.  47 

ing  the  results  of  his  theological  investigations 
during  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life.  In  many 
and  various  ways,  which  I  have  not  time  to  enume- 
rate, he  labored  to  bring  this  precious  formulary  of 
faith  into  honor  among  ministers  and  laymen  ;  to 
disseminate  the  knowledge  of  its  genius  and  its 
doctrines  among  the  people,  and  awaken  in  the 
mind  of  the  Reformed  Church  a  lively  conscious- 
ness of  her  rich  inheritance.  Excepting  only  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Nevin,  no  minister  of  the  Reformed 
Church  from  the  pioneer  Schlatter  down  to  his 
time,  ever  worked  so  steadily  and  untiringly  to- 
wards this  noble  end,  and  no  one  accomplished  so 
much. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  made  the  history  of  the  church 
both  in  Europe  and  America  a  special  subject  of 
investigation.  He  studied  the  lives  of  the  Re- 
formers. He  studied  the  lives  of  the  American 
Fathers.  To  gather  the  requisite  material  for  his 
biographical  works,  he  traveled  extensively  for 
several  years,  as  his  professional  duties  would  per- 
mit, searching  for  information  among  piles  of  old 
letters,  in  the  records  of  the  oldest  churches,  in  con- 
versation with  the  oldest  surviving  members  of  the 
oldest  churches,  with  the  descendants  of  deceased 
clergymen,  and  among  the  files  of  German  and 
English  newspapers  of  the  last  century.  To  the 
same  end  he  carried  on  an  extensive  correspond- 
ence ;  besides,  he  collected  all  accessible  manu- 


48 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


scripts,  reports,  annals,  biographies,  and  histories 
bearing  upon  his  undertaking.  He  spared  neither 
time,  nor  labor,  nor  money  in  qualifying  himself 
for  the  proper  execution  of  his  plans.  Then  he 
wrote  out  the  Life  of  Michael  Schlatter  ;  and  this 
was  followed  by  The  Lives  of  the  Fathers  in  three 
volumes.  Though  the  books  he  wrote  directly  for 
his  own  church  yielded  him  no  pecuniary  revenue, 
yet  he  did  not  abate  his  zeal  nor  relinquish  his  pur- 
pose. These  works  were  only  preparatory  to  a 
larger  and  more  important  work  which  he  intended 
to  write,  and  no  doubt  would  have  written,  had  his 
life  been  spared,  namely,  a  complete  history  of  the 
German  branch  of  the  Reformed  Church  from  its 
origin  to  the  present  period. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  originated  the  idea  of  the  Ter- 
centenary celebration  of  1863.  As  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Arrangements  he  devised  the 
plan  of  that  jubilee  ;  he  superintended  all  the  pre- 
liminary work  ;  he  directed  the  movement,  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  discouragements  arising  from  the 
prevalence  of  a  gigantic  civil  war  ;  and  he  did  the 
work  successfully,  from  the  beginning  to  its  trium- 
phant conclusion.  Though  he  received  important 
aid  and  was  supported  by  the  active  cooperation  of 
other  members  of  the  committee  ;  though  the 
movement  must  have  been  a  failure  had  not  other 
distinguished  theologians,  both  in  Europe  and 
America,  sustained  it  by  their  contributions,  yet 


IN  MEMORIAM.  49 

the  fact  stands  out  clearly  to  view  that  he  inaugu- 
rated the  celebration  of  the  Ter-centenary  year, 
and  that  the  success  of  the  celebration  must  in 
the  first  instance  be  ascribed  mainly  to  his  genius 
and  zeal. 

He  was  also  the  originator  of  the  Historical 
Society,  or  one  of  its  principal  originators.  He 
took  a  deep  interest  in  its  operations  from  year  to 
year,  and  was  one  of  its  most  active  supporters. 

But  I  waive  any  further  enumeration  of  par- 
ticulars. These  are  only  some  of  the  facts  which 
demonstrate  the  earnest  spirit  with  which  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  practical  affairs  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  Whilst  many  other  men  have 
done  good  service  in  this  direction,  such  as 
Schlatter,  Hendel,  Reily,  Mayer,  Nevin,  and 
Schaff,  yet  it  is  but  simple  justice  to  say  that,  as 
regards  direct  practical  efforts  in  the  interest  of  the 
German  branch  of  the  Reformed  Church,  Dr.  Har- 
baugh  distinguished  himself  as  one  of  the  most 
efficient  workmen  in  America. 

We  see  from  this  review  of  his  life  that  there 
was  no  incompatibility  between  the  catholic  the- 
ology of  Dr.  Harbaugh  and  living  interest  in  the 
practical  affairs  of  the  church.  On  the  contrary, 
it  was  the  old  faith  that  yielded  such  rich  and 
abundant  fruit.  The  original  life  flowing  in  the 
arteries  of  the  church  catholic  circulates  in  the 
arteries  and  veins  of  the  entire  body,  nourishing 


50  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

and  animating  every  member  and  every  organ  of 
the  body  mystical.  Any  member  of  this  spiritual 
organism  can  live  and  flourish  only  as  it  appropri- 
ates the  vitality  of  the  same  original  life-blood. 
u  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,"  says 
Christ,  "  except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  no  more  can 
ye  except  ye  abide  in  Me."  Just  because  Dr.  Har- 
baugh identified  himself  with  the  faith  and  theology 
of  the  Reformation  and  thus  stood  in  unbroken 
continuity  with  all  previous  periods  of  history  and 
through  them  with  the  life  and  faith  of  the  Apos- 
tolic College,  did  he  feel  the  strong  pulsation  of 
that  life  in  the  depths  of  his  soul,  and  was  con- 
strained as  by  an  irresistible  impulse  to  labor  for 
the  church  of  his  fathers  in  America  with  as  much 
patience  and  zeal  as  if,  like  Paul,  he  had  received 
an  audible  call  from  God  to  offer  himself  to  Him  a 
sacrifice  on  her  altar. 

It  would  be  proper  yet  to  touch  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  Dr.  Harbaugh  as  a  writer  and  a  poet.  But 
as  this  imperfect  portraiture  has  already  exceeded 
its  intended  limits,  I  must  forbear. 

So  fertile  and  various  a  genius,  so  marked  a 
character,  and  so  active  and  successful  a  life,  sug- 
gest important  practical  reflections.  But  I  shall 
conclude  by  merely  summing  up  the  results  of  this 
review  of  our  sainted  brother's  life. 

The  central  idea  may  be  expressed  by  saying 
that  the  spirit  and  genius  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  were 


IN  MEMORIAM.  5I 

in  the  true  sense  representative.  He  was  a  repre- 
sentative personality  under  every  prominent  aspect 
of  his  character.  Whether  we  consider  him  simply 
as  a  man,  an  individual  member  of  the  race,  or  as 
an  American  German,  an  individual  member  of  this 
particular  nationality,  the  assertion  is  valid.  He 
was  a  genuine  man,  realizing  the  rich  truth  of  a 
noble  manhood.  He  was  a  genuine  Pennsylvania 
German  ;  the  best  type,  taken  all  in  all,  of  German 
life,  of  German  geniality,  and  German  modes  of 
thought,  that  has  come  to  view  in  our  day. 

But  the  assertion  is  equally  valid  under  the 
higher  aspect  of  Christian  manhood.  He  realized 
the  idea  of  a  Christian.  I  knew  him  well  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  first  as  a  student  at  Mercersburg  and 
afterwards  as  a  pastor  and  a  professor  ;  and  for  the 
last  twenty  years  we  have  been  intimate  bosom 
friends.  On  all  occasions  he  would  communicate 
to  me  with  entire  freedom  his  private  opinions  of 
men  and  things,  and  the  secret  workings  of  his  own 
heart  under  the  severest  trials  of  his  life.  And  I  can 
testify  without  reserve  that,  whilst  he  would  some- 
times differ  with  me  in  judgment,  Dr.  Harbaugh 
was  true  to  Christ  as  His  humble  follower,  true  in 
the  full  sense  of  the  word.  What  he  appeared  to 
be  outwardly  he  was  in  reality  in  the  secret  depths 
of  his  soul.  Scrupulously  conscientious  in  every 
act,  the  all-controlling  principle  of  his  conduct  was 
fidelity  to  Jesus  Christ.  Christ  was  the  only  law  of 


5  2  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

his  life.  And  to  this  law  he  made  all  private  and 
temporal  considerations  bend  absolutely  by  the 
power  of  an  unconquerable  will. 

No  less  did  he  realize  the  true  idea  of  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel.  Studious,  faithful,  earnest,  devout, 
reverential,  fearless,  yet  kind  and  tender,  he  conse- 
crated his  powers  and  acquirements  to  his  calling, 
seeking  only  to  fulfil  the  work  of  Christ  on  earth 
to  the  glory  of  His  name. 

But  I  may  speak  more  specifically.  Harbaugh 
was  the  true  type  of  a  German  Reformed  minister. 
The  rare  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  with  which 
he  was  endowed  were  not  diverted  from  his  legiti- 
mate calling  and  frittered  away  on  outside  popular 
enterprises  and  schemes,  but  were  set  apart  sacredly 
to  the  single  purpose  of  building  up  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  the  faith  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
and  among  the  people  of  American  German  nation- 
ality. 

These  particulars  I  sum  up  by  saying  that  he 
was  a  representative  man  in  the  sphere  of  Christo- 
logical  theology.  He  realized  the  idea  of  a  theo- 
logian of  the  German  branch  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  Rooted  in  the  original  life  of  the  church 
catholic,  like  the  Catechism  in  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
he  held  the  positive  truth  of  all  ages  in  the  specific 
form  begotten  by  the  Reformed  Confessions.  This 
truth  he  held  in  its  negative  relations  to  divergent 
tendencies  of  Christian  faith,  revering  what  was 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


53 


good  and  Scriptural  in  the  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions to  which  he  did  not  adhere,  and  exposing 
what  he  believed  to  be  evil  or  false  in  the  Com- 
munion in  which  he  lived.  Whilst  some  men  are 
distinguished  mainly  for  profound  thought,  others 
for  practical  judgment  and  extraordinary  activity, 
he  united  both  elements  of  character,  devoting 
himself  with  equal  freedom  to  the  science  of  Chris- 
tian theology  and  to  the  details  of  practical  Chris- 
tian life.  The  union  of  these  opposite  qualities 
constitute  Dr.  Harbaugh  a  model  theologian. 
Among  all  the  disciples  of  his  distinguished 
teacher,  no  one  grasped,  illustrated,  and  developed 
the  ruling  ideas  of  his  philosophical  and  theolog- 
ical thinking  so  well  and  so  fully  as  did  he. 

In  virtue  of  this  extraordinary  combination  of 
manifold  qualities,  natural  and  moral,  which  raised 
him  above  the  common  level  of  men,  of  Christians, 
and  of  ministers,  Dr.  Harbaugh  was,  by  universal 
consent,  a  leader  and  a  standard  bearer.  As  such 
he  stood  forth  prominently  in  the  Reformed  Church, 
and  he  wielded  an  influence,  mighty  and  permanent 
for  good,  on  the  rostrum,  in  the  pulpit,  on  the  floor 
of  classis  and  synod,  through  the  medium  of  the 
press,  and  far  and  wide  among  all  classes  of  the 
people. 

But  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  Providence  to  call 
him  hence.  Just  when  he  had  reached  the  meridian 
of  life  ;  when  his  intellect  and  his  scholarship  were 


54 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


approaching  maturity  ;  just  when  the  conflict  be- 
tween faith  and  all  the  insidious  forms  of  unbelief 
was  waxing  more  violent  ;  just  when,  according  to 
our  narrow  judgment,  his  life  and  labors  were  most 
necessary  and  important,  the  voice  of  God  bids  him 
lay  down  the  weapons  of  spiritual  warfare,  and 
enter  into  rest.  At  such  an  hour  as  we  thought 
not,  his  lips  are  sealed  in  death ;  and  we  awake  to 
a  sense  of  great  and  irreparable  loss.  Our  beloved 
brother,  our  friend,  our  co-worker  is  no  more. 
A  burning  and  a  shining  light  has  been  extin- 
guished. So  we  say  ;  but  we  do  not  yet  feel  the 
full  force  of  our  loss.  The  painful  sense  of  be- 
reavement will  come  as  occasions  arise  when  his 
presence  is  needed.  Our  hearts  are  sad  and  de- 
pressed ;  but  we  acquiesce  in  the  dispensations  of 
the  divine  will ;  for  God  deals  with  us  both  in  wis- 
dom and  love.  Dr.  Harbaugh  has  entered  into  his 
reward  among  the  sainted  dead  ;  he  is  verifying  the 
hope  of  heavenly  recognition  ;  and  is  enjoying  the 
blessedness  of  the  Home  which  he  saw  in  the  dis- 
tance by  faith.  He  has  gained  infinitely  more  than 
we  have  lost. 

We  who  remain  are  still  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  conflict,  and  follow  after  in  hope.  His  noble 
example  of  faith  and  activity,  of  earnestness  and 
burning  zeal,  is  the  rich  legacy  which  he  has 
bequeathed  to  us.  His  influence  still  lives.  Though 
dead,  he  yet  speaketh. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 


55 


Let  us  revere  his  memory.  Let  us  cherish  and 
perpetuate  among  us  his  apostolic  spirit.  Let  us 
imitate  his  example  of  activity,  of  zeal  for  the  honor 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  consecration  to  the  Church 
of  the  living  God,  which  is  the  pillar  and  ground 
of  the  Truth. 

E.  V.  GERHART. 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  March  2d,  1868. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS. 


BY  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

ESUS,  I  live  to  Thee, 

The  loveliest  and  best ; 
My  life  in  Thee,  Thy  life  in  me, 
In  Thy  blest  love  I  rest. 

Jesus,  I  die  to  Thee, 

Whenever  death  shall  come  ; 
To  die  in  Thee  is  life  to  me, 

In  my  eternal  home. 

Whether  to  live  or  die, 
I  know  not  which  is  best ; 

To  live  in  Thee  is  bliss  to  me, 
To  die  is  endless  rest. 

Living  or  dying,  Lord, 
I  ask  but  to  be  Thine ; 

My  life  in  Thee,  Thy  life  in  me, 
Makes  heav'n  forever  mine. 


,  my  Shepherd,  let  me  share 
Thy  guiding  hand,  Thy  tender  care  ; 
And  let  me  ever  find  in  Thee, 
A  refuge  and  a  rest  for  me. 

Oh,  lead  me  ever  by  Thy  side, 
Where  fields  are  green,  and  waters  glide 
And  be  Thou  still,  where'er  I  be, 
A  refuge  and  a  rest  for  me. 


58  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

While  I  this  barren  desert  tread, 
Feed  thou  my  soul  on  heavenly  bread  ; 
'Mid  foes  and  fears  Thee  may  I  see, 
A  refuge  and  a  rest  for  me. 

Anoint  me  with  Thy  gladdening  grace, 
To  cheer  me  in  the  heavenly  race  ; 
Cause  all  my  gloomy  doubts  to  flee, 
And  make  my  spirit  rest  in  Thee. 

When  death  shall  end  this  mortal  strife, 
Bring  me  through  death  to  endless  life  ; 
Then,  face  to  face,  beholding  Thee, 
My  refuge  and  my  rest  shall  be. 


3ESUS,  to  Thy  cross  I  hasten, 
In  all  weariness  my  home  ; 
Let  Thy  dying  love  come  o'er  me — 
Light  and  covert  in  the  gloom  : 

Saviour,  hide  me, 
Till  the  hour  of  gloom  is  o'er. 

Where  life's  tempests  dark  are  rolling 
Fearful  shadows  o'er  my  way  ; 

Let  firm  faith  in  Thee  sustain  me, 
Every  rising  fear  allay  : 

Hide,  oh  !  hide  me, 
Hide  me  till  the  storm  is  o'er. 

When  stern  death  at  last  shall  lead  me 
Through  the  dark  and  lonely  vale  ; 

Let  Thy  hope  uphold  and  cheer  me, 
Though  my  flesh  and  heart  should  fail. 

Safely  hide  me 
With  Thyself  forevermore. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS. 

THE  MYSTIC  WEAVER, 

HT  his  loom  the  weaver  sitting 
Throws  his  shuttle  to  and  fro  ; 

Foot  and  treadle, 

Hands  and  pedal, 

Upward,  downward, 

Hither,  thither, 

How  the  weaver  makes  them  go  ! 
As  the  weaver  wills  they  go. 
Up  and  down  the  warp  is  plying, 
And  across  the  woof  is  flying  ; 

What  a  rattling, 

What  a  battling, 

What  a  shuffling, 

What  a  scuffling, 
As  the  weaver  makes  his  shuttle, 
Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle. 

Threads  in  single, 
Threads  in  double ; 

How  they  mingle, 
What  a  trouble  ! 

Every  color — 
What  profusion  ! 

Every  motion — 

What  confusion ! 

Whilst  the  warp  and  woof  are  mingling, 
Signal  bells  above  are  jingling, 
Telling  how  each  figure  ranges, 
Telling  when  the  color  changes, 
As  the  weaver  makes  his  shuttle 
Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle. 

II. 

At  his  loom  the  weaver  sitting, 

Throws  his  shuttle  to  and  fro  ; 
'Mid  the  noise  and  wild  confusion, 


59 


60  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Well  the  weaver  seems  to  know, 
As  he  makes  his  shuttle  go, 
What  each  motion — 
And  commotion, 
What  each  fusion — 
And  confusion, 
In  the  grand  result  will  show  : 

Weaving  daily, 

Singing  gaily, 

As  he  makes  his  busy  shuttle, 

Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle. 

III. 

At  his  loom  the  weaver  sitting 

Throws  his  shuttle  to  and  fro  ; 
See  you  not  how  shape  and  order 
From  the  wild  confusion  grow, 
As  he  makes  his  shuttle  go  ? 
As  the  warp  and  woof  diminish, 
Grows  behind  the  beauteous  finish  : 
Tufted  plaidings, 
Shapes  and  shadings  ; 
All  the  mystery 
Now  in  history ; 
And  we  see  the  reason  subtle 
Why  the  weaver  makes  his  shuttle, 
Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle. 

IV. 

See  the  Mystic  Weaver  sitting 
High  in  heaven — His  loom  below. 
Up  and  down  the  treadles  go  : 
Takes  for  warp  the  world's  long  ages, 
Takes  for  woof  its  kings  and  sages, 
Takes  the  nobles  and  their  pages, 
Takes  all  stations  and  all  stages. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS.  6 1 

Thrones  are  bobbins  in  His  shuttle  ; 
Armies  make  them  scud  and  scuttle. 
Woof  into  the  warp  must  flow  ; 
Up  and  down  the  nations  go  ; 
As  the  Weaver  wills  they  go. 
Men  are  sparring, 
Powers  are  jarring, 
Upward,  downward, 
Hither,  thither, 

See  how  strange  the  nations  go, 
Just  like  puppets  in  a  show. 
Up  and  down  the  warp  is  plying, 
And  across  the  woof  is  flying, 
What  a  rattling, 
What  a  battling, 
What  a  shufliing, 
What  a  scuffling, 

As  the  Weaver  makes  His  shuttle, 
Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle. 

V. 
Calmly  see  the  Mystic  Weaver 

Throw  His  shuttle  to  and  fro  ; 
'Mid  the  noise  and  wild  confusion, 
Well  the  Weaver  seems  to  know 
What  each  motion — 
And  commotion, 
What  each  fusion — 
And  confusion, 
In  the  grand  result  will  show, 
As  the  nations, 
Kings  and  stations, 
Upward,  downward, 
Hither,  thither, 
As  in  mystic  dances,  go. 

In  the  present  all  is  mystery  ; 
In  the  Past  'tis  beauteous  History. 
O'er  the  mixing  and  the  mingling, 


62  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

How  the  signal  bells  are  jingling  ! 
See  you  not  the  Weaver  leaving 
Finished  work  behind  in  weaving  ? 

See  you  not  the  reason  subtle — 
As  the  warp  and  woof  diminish, 
Changing  into  beauteous  finish — 
Why  the  Weaver  makes  His  shuttle, 
Hither,  thither,  scud  and  scuttle  ? 

VI. 

Glorious  wonder  !     What  a  weaving  ! 
To  the  dull  beyond  believing  ! 

Such  no  fabled  ages  know. 
Only  faith  can  see  the  mystery, 
How,  along  the  aisle  of  History 

Where  the  feet  of  sages  go, 
Loveliest  to  the  purest  eyes, 
Grand  the  mystic  tapet  lies  ! 
Soft  and  smooth  and  even-spreading, 
As  if  made  for  angels'  treading  ; 
Tufted  circles  touching  ever, 
Inwrought  beauties  fading  never  ; 
Every  figure  has  its  plaidings, 
Brighter  form  and  softer  shadings  ; 
Each  illumined — what  a  riddle  ! — 
From  a  Cross  that  gems  the  middle. 
'Tis  a  saying — some  reject  it — 
That  its  light  is  all  reflected  ; 
That  the  tapet's  hues  are  given 
By  a  Sun  that  shines  in  Heaven  ! 
'Tis  believed,  by  all  believing, 
That  great  God  Himself  is  weaving  ! 
Bringing  out  the  world's  dark  mystery 
In  the  light  of  faith  and  History  ; 
And  as  warp  and  woof  diminish 
Comes  the  grand  and  glorious  finish — 
When  begin  the  golden  ages, 
Long  foretold  by  seers  and  sages. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS.  63 

HEEMWEH. 

*lfCH  wees  net  was  die  Ursach  is — 
"    Wees  net,  warum  ich's  dhu  : 
'N  jedes  Johr  mach  ich  der  Weg 

Der  alte  Heeniet  zu  ; 
Hab  weiter  nix  zu  suche  dort — 

Kee'  Erbschaft  un  kee'  Geld  ; 
Un  doch  treibt  inich  des  Heemgefiehl 

So  schtark  wie  alle  Welt ; 
Nor'd  schtart  ich  ewe  ab  un  geh, 

Wie  owe  schun  gemeldt. 

Wie  nacher  dass  ich  kumm  zum  Ziel, 

Wie  schtarker  will  ich  geh, 
For  eppes  in  mei'm  Herz  werd  letz 

Un  dhut  m'r  kreislich  weh. 
Der  letschte  Hiwel  schpring  ich  nuf , 

Un  ep  ich  drowe  bin, 
Schtreck  ich  mich  uf  so  hoch  ich  kann 

Un  guk  mit  L/uschte  hin  ; 
Ich  seh's  alt  Schtee'haus  dorch  die  Beem, 

Un  wott  ich  war  schun  drin. 

Guk,  wie  der  Kicheschornschtee'  schmokt — 

Wie  oft  hab  ich  sell  g'seh', 
Wann  ich  draus  in  de  Felder  war, 

'N  Buwele  Jung  un  klee'. 
O,  sehntscht  die  Fenschterscheiwe  dort? 

Sie  guk'n  roth  wie  Blut  ; 
Hab  aft  cunsiddert,  doch  net  g'wisst, 

Dass  sell  die  Sunn  so  dhut. 
Ja,  manches  wees  'n  Kind  noch  net — 

Wann's  dhet,  war's  ah  net  gut ! 

Wie  gleich  ich  selle  Babble  Beem, 

Sie  schtehn  wie  Brieder  dar  ; 
Un  uf'm  Gippel— g'wiss  ich  leb  ! 

Hockt  alleweil  'n  Schtaar  ! 


64  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

'S  Gippel  biegt  sich — guk,  wie's  gaunscht- 

'R  hebt  sich  awer  fescht ; 
Ich  seh  sei'  rothe  Fliegle  plehn, 

Wann  er  sei'  Feddere  wescht ; 
Will  wette,  dass  sei'  Fraale  hot 

Uf  sellem  Baam  'n  Nescht ! 

O,  es  gedenkt  m'r  noch  gans  gut, 

Wo  selle  werri  Beem 
Net  greeser  als  'n  Welschkornschtock 

Gebrocot  sin  worre  heem. 
Die  Mammi  war  an's  Grandad's  g'west, 

Dort  ware  Beem  wie  die  ; 
Drei  Wipplein  hot  sie  mitgebrocht, 

Un  g'sa't :    ,,Dort  blanscht  sie  hie." 
M'r  hen's  gedhu' — un  glaabscht  du's  nau- 

Dort  selli  Beem  sin  sie  ! 

Guk  !  werklich,  ich  bin  schier  am  Haus  !- 

Wie  schnell  geht  doch  die  Zeit ! 
Wann  m'r  so  in  Gedanke  geht, 

So  wees  m'r  net  wie  weit. 
Dort  is  d'r  Schap,  die  Welschkornkrip, 

Die  Seiderpress  dort  draus  ; 
Dort  is  die  Scheier,  un  dort  die  Schpring- 

Frisch  quellt  des  Wasser  raus  ; 
Un  guk  !  die  sehm  alt  Klapbord-Fens, 

Un's  Dheerle  vor'm  Haus. 

Alles  is  schtill— sie  wisse  net, 

Dass  epper  fremmes  kummt. 
Ich  denk,  der  alte  Watsch  is  dodt, 

Sunscht  war  er  raus  gedschumpt ; 
For  er  hot  als  verschinnert  g'brillt 

Wann  er  hot  's  Dheerle  g'heert ; 
Es  war  de  Traw'lers  kreislich  bang, 

Sie  werre  gans  verzehrt : 
Kee'  G'fohr— er  hot  paar  Mol  gegauzt, 

Nor'd  is  er  umgekehrt. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS.  65 

Alles  is  schtill — die  Dheer  is  zu  ! 

Ich  schteh,  besinne  mich  ! 
Es  rappelt  doch  en  wenig  nau 

Dort  hinne  in  der  Rich. 
Ich  geh  net  nei—  ich  kann  noch  net ! 

Mei'  Herz  fiehlt  schwer  un  krank  ; 
Ich  geh  'n  wenig  uf  die  Bortsch, 

Un  hock  mich  uf  die  Bank  ; 
Es  seht  mich  niemand,  wann  ich  heil, 

Hinner  der  Drauwerank  ! 

Zwee  Blatz  sin  do  uf  dare  Bortsch, 

Die  halt  ich  hoch  in  Acht, 
Bis  meines  Lebens  Sonn  versinkt 

In  schtiller  Dodtes-Nacht ! 
Wo  ich  vurn  alte  Vaterhaus 

'S  erscht  mol  bin  gange  fort, 
Schtand  mei'  Mammi  weinend  da, 

An  sellem  Rigel  dort ; 
Un  nix  is  mir  so  heilig  nau 

Als  grade  seller  Ort. 

Ich  kanu  se  heit  noch  sehne  schteh, 

Ihr  Schnuppduch  in  d'r  Hand  ; 
Die  Backe  roth,  die  Aage  nass — 

O,  wie  sie  doch  do  schtand  ! 
Dort  gab  ich  ihr  mei'  Farewell, 

Ich  weinte  als  ich's  gab, 
'S  war's  letschte  Mol  in  dare  Welt, 

Dass  ich's  ihr  gewe  hab  ! 
Befor  ich  widder  kumme  bin 

War  sie  in  ihrem  Grab  ! 

Nau,  wann  ich  an  mei'  Mammi  denk, 

Un  meen,  ich  dhet  se  seh, 
So  schteht  sie  an  dem  Rigel  dort 

Un  weint,  weil  ich  wek  geh  ! 
Ich  seh  sie  net  im  Schockelschtuhl ! 

Net  an  keem  armere  Ort ; 


66  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Ich  denk  net  an  sie  als  im  Grab  : 

Juscht  an  dem  Rigel  dort ! 
Dort  schteht  sie  immer  vor  mei'm  Herz 

Un  weint  noch  liebreich  fort ! 

Was  macht's  dass  ich  so  dort  hi'  guk, 

An  sell  Bnd  vun  der  Bank  ! 
Weescht  du's?    Mei'  Herz  is  noch  net  dodt, 

Ich  wees  es,  Gott  sei  Dank  ! 
Wie  manchmal  sass  mei  Dady  dort, 

Am  Summer-Nochmiddag, 
Die  Hande  uf  der  Schoos  gekreizt, 

Sei  Schtock  bei  Seite  lag. 
Was  hot  er  dort  im  Schtille  g'denkt? 

Wer  mecht  es  wisse — sag  ? 

V'rleicht  is  es  'n  Kindheets-Draam, 

Dass  ihn  so  sanft  bewegt ; 
Oder  is  er  'n  Jingling  jetz, 

Der  scheene  Plane  legt ! 
Er  hebt  sei'  Aage  uf  juscht  nau 

Un  gukt  weit  iwer's  Feld  ; 
Er  seht  v'rleicht  d'r  Kerchhof  dort, 

Der  schun  die  Mammi  helt ! 
Er  sehnt  v'rleicht  nooch  seiner  Ruh 

Dort  in  der  bessere  Welt ! 

Ich  wees  net,  soil  ich  nei'  in's  Haus, 

Ich  zitter  an  d'r  Dheer  ! 
Es  is  wol  alles  voll  inseid, 

Un  doch  is  alles  leer  ! 
'S  is  net  meh  heem,  wie's  eemol  war, 

Un  kann's  ah  nimme  sei ; 
Was  naus  mit  unsere  Eltere  geht 

Kummt  ewig  nimme  nei'  ! 
Die  Freide  hot  der  Dodt  gearnt, 

Das  Trauerdheel  is  mei'  ! 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS.  67 

So  geht's  in  dare  rauhe  Welt, 

Wo  alles  muss  vergeh  ! 
Ja,  in  der  alte  Heemet  gar 

Fiehlt  m'r  sich  all  allee'  ! 
O,  wann's  net  vor  der  Himmel  war, 

Mit  seiner  scheene  Ruh, 
Dann  war  m'r's  do  schun  lang  verleedt, 

Ich  wisst  net,  was  ze  dhu. 
Doch  Hoffnung  leichtet  meinen  Weg 

Der  ew'gen  Heeinet  zu. 

Dort  is  'n  schee',  schee'  Vaterhaus, 

Dort  geht  m'r  nimmeh  fort ; 
Es  weint  kee'  guti  Mammi  men' 

In  sellem  Freideort. 
Kee'  Dady  such  meh'  fer  'n  Grab, 

Wo,  was  er  lieb  hat,  liegt ! 
Sell  is  kee'  Elendwelt  wie  die, 

Wo  alle  Luscht  betriegt ; 
Dort  hat  das  Lewe  ewiglich 

Iwer  der  Dodt  gesiegt. 

Dort  find  m'r,  was  m'r  do  verliert, 

Un  b'halt's  in  Ewigkeit ; 
Dort  lewe  unsre  Dodte  all. 

In  Licht  un  ew'ger  Freid  ! 
Wie  oft,  wann  ich  in  Druwel  bin, 

Denk  ich  an  selli  Ruh, 
Un  wott,  wann's  nor  Gott's  Wille  war, 

Ich  ging  ihr  schneller  zu  ; 
Doch  wart  ich  bis  mei'  Schtindle  schlagt, 

Nor'd  sag  ich— Welt,  adju  ! 


68  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

DAS  ALT  SCHULHAUS  AN  DER  KRICK. 

«JL|EIT  is  's  'xactly  zwansig  Johr, 
*•  *"    Dass  ich  bin  owwe  naus  ; 
Nau  bin  ich  widder  lewig  z'rick 
Un  Schteh  am  Schulhaus  an  d'r  Krick, 
Juscht  neekscht  an's  Dady's  Haus. 

Ich  bin  in  hunnert  Heiser  g'west, 

Van  Marbelstree'  un  Brick, 
Un  alles  was  sie  hen,  die  Leit, 
Dhet  ich  verschwappe  eenig  Zeit 

For's  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick. 

Wer  mied  deheem  is,  un  will  fort, 

So  loss  ihn  numme  geh' — 
Ich  sag  ihm  awwer  vorne  naus 
Es  is  all  Humbuk  owwe  draus, 

Un  er  werd's  selwert  seh'  ! 

Ich  bin  draus  rum  in  alle  Eck', 

M'r  macht's  jo  ewwe  so  ; 
Hab  awwer  noch  in  keener  Schtadt 
Uf  e'mol  so  viel  Freed  gehat 

Wie  in  dem  Schulhaus  do. 

Wie  heemelt  mich  do  alles  a'  ! 

Ich  schteh,  un  denk,  un  guck  ; 
Un  was  ich  schier  vergesse  hab, 
Kummt  widder  z'rick  wie  aus  seim  Grab, 

Un  schteht  do  wie  en  Schpuck  ! 

Des  Krickle  schpielt  verbei  wie's  hot, 
Wo  ich  noch  g'schpielt  hab  dra'  ; 
Un  unner  selle  Hollerbisch 
Do  schpiele  noch  die  kleene  Fisch, 
So  schmart  wie  selli  Zeit. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS.  69 

Der  Weisseech  schteht  noch  an  der  Dhier — 

Macht  Schatte  iwwer's  Dach  : 
Die  Drauwerank  is  ah  noch  grie' — 
Un's  Amschel-Nescht — guk  juscht  mol  hi' — 

O  was  is  dess  en  Sach  ! 

Die  Schwalme  schkippe  iwwer's  Feld, 

Die  vedderscht  is  die  bescht ! 
Un  sehnscht  du  dort  am  Giebeleck 
'N  Haus  vun  Schtopple  un  vun  Dreck? 

Sell  is  en  Schwalme-Nescht. 

Die  Junge  leie  allweil  schtill, 

Un  schlofe  alle  fescht. 
Ward  bis  die  Alte  kriege  Werm 
No'd  herscht  du  awwer  gross  Gelerm — 

Vun  Meiler  in  dem  Nescht ! 

Ja,  alles  dess  is  noch  wie's  war 

Wo  ich  noch  war  en  Buh  ; 
Doch  anner  Dings  sin  net  neh  so, 
For  alles  dhut  sich  ennere  do 

Wie  ich  tnich  ennere  dhu. 

Ich  schteh  wie  Ossian  in  seim  Dhal 

Un  seh  in's  Wolkeschpiel,— 
Bewegt  mit  Freed  un  Trauer — ach  ! 
Die  Dhrene  kumme  wann  ich  lach  ! 

Kanscht  denke  wie  ich  fiehl. 

Do  bin  ich  gange  in  die  Schul, 

Wo  ich  noch  war  gans  klee'  ; 
Dort  war  der  Meeschter  in  seim  Schtuhl, 
Dort  war  sei'  Wip,  un  dort  sei'  Ruhl, — 

Ich  kann's  noch  Alles  seh'. 

Die  lange  Desks  rings  an  der  Wand — 

Die  grose  Schieler  drum  ; 
Uf  eener  Seit  die  grose  Mad, 
Un  dort  die  Buwe  net  so  bleed — 

Guk,  wie  sie  piepe  rum  ! 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Der  Meeschter  watscht  sie  awwer  scharf, 

Sie  gewe  besser  acht : 
Dort  seller,  wo  lofletters  schreibt 
Un  seller,  wo  sei  Schpuchte  treibt, 

Un  seller  Kerl  wo  laclit. 

Die  Grose  un  die  Kleene  all 

Sin  unner  eener  Ruhl ; 
Un  dess  is  juscht  der  rechte  Weg  : 
Wer  Ruhls  verbrecht,  der  nemmt  die  Schleg, 

Odder  verlosst  die  Schul. 

Inwennig,  uni  der  Offe  rum 

Hocke  die  kleene  Tschaps, 
Sie  lerne  artlich  hart,  verschteh, 
Un  wer  net  wees  sei'  A  B  C — 

Sei'  Ohre  kriege  Rapps. 

S'is  hart  zu  hocke  uf  so  Benk — 

Die  Fiess,  die  schteh'n  net  uf — 
En  Mancher  kriegt  en  weher  Rick 
In  sellem  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick, 
Un  fiehlt  gans  krenklich  druff . 

Die  arme  Drep  !  dort  hocke  se 

In  Misserie — juscht  denk  ! 
Es  is  kee'  Wunner — :nemm  mei  Wort — 
Dass  se  so  wenig  lerne  dort, 

Uf  selle  hoche  Benk. 

Mit  all  was  mer  so  sage  kann, 

War's  doch  en  guti  Schul ; 
Du  finscht  keen  Meeschter  so,  geh,  such — 
Der  seifre  kann  darch's  ganze  Buch, 

Un  schkippt  keen  eeni  Ruhl. 

Bees  war  er  !  ja,  dess  muss  ich  g'schteh  ; 

G'wippt  hot  er  numme  zu  ; 
Gar  kreislich  gute  Ruhls  gelehrt 
Un  wer  Schleg  kriegt  hot,  hen  se  g'heert, 

Hot  eppes  letz  gedhu'. 


HYMNS  AND  POEMS. 

Wann's  Dinner  war,  un  Schul  war  aus, 

Nor'd  hot  mer  gut  gefiehlt ; 
Dheel  is  'n  Balle-Gehm  gelunge, 
Dheel  hen  mitnanner  Rehs  g'schprunge, 

Un  Dheel  hen  Sold'scher  g'schpielt. 

Die  grose  Mad  hen  ausgekehrt — 

Die  Buwe  nausgeschtaabt ! 
Zu  helfe  hen  en  Dheel  pretend, 
Der  Meeschter  hot  sie  naus  gesendt : 

Die  Ruhls  hen's  net  erlaabt. 

Die  kleene  Mad  hen  Ring  geschpielt 

Uf  sellem  Waasum  da  ; 
Wann  grose  Mad  sin  in  der  Ring — 
'S  is  doch  en  wunnervolles  Ding  ! — 

Sin  grose  Buwe  ah  ! 

Die  Grose  hen  die  Grose  'taggt, 

Die  Kleene  all  vermisst ! 
Wie  sin  se  g'schprunge  ab  un  uf, 
Wer  g'wunne  hot,  verloss  dich  druf, 

Hot  dichdiglich  gekisst ! 

Am  Chrischdag  war  die  rechte  Zeit — 

Oh  wann  ich  juscht  dra'  denk  ! 
Der  Meeschter  hen  mer  naus  geschperrt, 
Die  Dhier  un  Fenschter  fescht  gebarrt — 
,,Nau,  Meeschter,  en  Geschenk  !" 

Nor'd  hot  er  awwer  hart  browirt, 

Mit  Fors  zu  kumme  nei'  ; 
Un  mir  hen,  wie  er  hot  gekloppt, 
'N  Schreiwes  unne  naus  geschtoppt, 

,,  Wann's  seinscht,  dann  kannscht  du  rei !' 

Nau  hot  der  Meeschter  raus  gelanst, 
Gar  kreislich  schiepisch  'gukt ! 
Eppel  un  Keschte  un  noch  meh', 
'S  war  juschtement  in  fact  recht  schee', 
Mir  hen's  mit  L,uschte  g'schluckt. 


72  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


Oh  wu  sin  nau  die  Schieler  all, 

Wo  hawe  do  gelernt? 
'N  Dheel  sin  weit  ewek  gereest, 
Vum  Unglick  uf  un  ab  gedscheest, 

Dheel  hot  der  Dodt  gearnt ! 

Mei  Herz  schwellt  mit  Gedanke  uf , 

Bis  ich  schier  gar  verschtick  ! 
Kennt  heile,  's  dhut  m'r  nau  so  leed, 
Un  doch  gebt's  mir  die  greeschte  Freed, 
Dess  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick. 

Gut  bei !  alt  Schulhaus— Echo  kreischt 

Gut  bei  !  Gut  bei  !  zurick  ; 
O  Schulhaus  !  Schulhaus  !  muss  ich  geh', 
Un  du  schtehscht  nor'd  do  all  allee', 

Du  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick  ! 

Oh  horcht,  ihr  L,eit,  wu  nooch  mir  lebt, 
Ich  schreib  eich  noch  des  Schtick  : 
Ich  warn  eich,  droh  eich,  gebt  doch  Acht, 
Un  nemmt  uf  immer  gut  enacht, 
Des  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick  ! 


L.IFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


I.     ANCESTRY. 

on  him  who  will  know  nothing  of 
his  parentage,"  exclaimed  Dr.  Henry 
Harbaugh  from  his  pulpit  at  Lancaster, 
Pa.,  in  1851.  "Shame  on  him  who  dis- 
owns his  ancestry  ;  he  reproaches  the 
blood  in  his  own  veins.  Both  shame  and  sin  on 
him  who  is  ashamed  of  his  countrymen  ;  he  brands 
himself  as  a  hypocrite  in  the  eyes  of  all  nations  ! 
Yet  there  are  those  still  who  seem  to  think  that  he 
who  speaks  German  is  necessarily  ignorant,  and 
that  he  who  understands  two  languages  knows  less 
than  he  who  knows  but  one !  This  lowest  of  all 
prejudices  is  certainly  held  with  consistency  by  the 
descendants  of  those  who  in  1727  remonstrated  with 
Governor  Keith  against  the  naturalization  of  the 
Swiss  and  German  settlers  on  the  Pequea,  *  urging 
among  other  things  against  them  *  that  they  had 
resolved  to  speak  their  own  language  !  !  /'  O  jam 
satis." 


*  Creek  flowing  through  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  into  the  Susquehanna 
river. 


74  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Upon  another  occasion  he  wrote  : 

"No  country  lies  so  near  heaven  as  Switzerland. 
Her  eternal  Alps  are  her  fit  monuments,  at  once 
the  symbols  of  power  and  freedom  ;  while  the  quiet 
valleys  which  they  shelter  and  shade,  speak  to  us  for- 
ever of  peace  and  blessing. ' ' 

It  is  intended  herein  to  trace  briefly  the  lineage 
of  Henry  Harbaugh,  from  the  ancestral  home  in 
Switzerland  down  to  his  own  life  and  times,  and  to 
offer  something  in  support  of  the  proposition  that 
his  deeply  religious  and  poetic  life,  if  nothing  more, 
sprang  through  the  influences  of  heredity  from  the 
very  heart  of  the  Swiss  mountains. 

In  the  Land  Office  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  there  is  a 
deed  of  record  in  which  it  appears  that  in  1739, 
Joost  Harbogh  was  the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land  of 
one  hundred  acres  in  what  is  now  Berks  County, 
three  miles  above  Maxatawny  creek.  He  came  from 
Switzerland  about  the  year  1736,  and  lived  on  this 
tract  for  about  four  years.  After  this  he  moved  to 
the  new  settlement  of  Kreutz  creek,  west  of  the 
Susquehanna,  where  he  cleared  the  land  and  built 
a  substantial  log  house  which  was  yet  standing  in 
the  year  1836.  It  was  forty  feet  square  and  the 
logs  were  of  the  choicest  timber,  all  nicely  hewn, 
some  of  them  being  as  much  as  two  feet  broad. 
Westward  from  the  site  of  this  old  house  there  is  a 
gentle  slope  downward  towards  the  spring  ;  directly 


ANCESTRY. 


75 


south  of  the  spring  was  formerly  the  garden.  Not 
many  years  ago  there  still  grew  some  parsnips  and 
larkspur  along  the  fence  which  once  bounded  the 
old  garden  plot — the  degenerated  and  lingering 
relics  of  ornament  and  use.  Their  dying  and  re- 
viving each  year  seems  to  be  a  picture  of  how  mem- 
ory lingers  and  struggles  to  keep  itself  alive  around 
the  spot  to  which  its  fondest  associations  are  bound. 

Numerous  German  settlements  were  made  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kreutz  creek  as  early  as  1736.  Exiles 
from  the  Palatinate,  they  sought  a  new  home  where 
they  hoped  to  live  in  peace ;  martyrs  to  the  cause 
of  Protestantism,  they  fled  from  the  cruel  religious 
persecutions  of  France  and  Germany,  and  expected 
to  find  a  dwelling  place  where  they  could  build 
anew  their  homes  and  their  churches. 

But  in  the  place  of  receiving  them  kindly  for 
their  own  sakes  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  Him  in 
whose  cause  they  had  suffered  so  much,  the  mag- 
nanimous government  of  Penn  denied  them  a  home 
for  a  time,  and  then  after  relenting  so  far  as  to 
allow  them  to  remain,  subjected  them  to  great 
annoyances  for  many  years. 

The  mode  of  life  and  surroundings  of  these  early 
German  settlers  were  truly  primitive,  simple,  and 
severe.  Here  the  young  man  and  wife  with  a  calm 
courage  born  in  part  at  least  of  a  hope  for  material 
prosperity,  blazed  a  pathway  through  the  forests 
and  braved  the  dangers  of  the  time. 


76  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Upon  their  arrival  from  the  fatherland  the  first 
want  of  these  hardy  pioneers  was  to  found  a  home. 
To  clear  away  the  forest  and  erect  a  good  strong 
house  of  logs  was  the  labor  to  which  they  first  ad- 
dressed themselves.  Their  furniture  and  conveni- 
ences of  the  household  were  of  a  rude  sort,  and 
their  dress  was  simple,  consisting  of  tow  cloth 
almost  wholly,  until  later  when  wool  came  to  be  an 
article  obtainable  in  the  markets.  But  there  was  a 
long  time  during  which  even  a  mixture  of  tow  and 
wool  was  regarded  as  an  article  of  luxury,  and  for- 
tunate was  he  who  could  have  it  as  a  means  of  com- 
fort in  the  winter  months.  In  all  that  district 
around  Kreutz  creek  there  was  neither  shoemaker 
nor  tanner,  and  shoes  were  brought  annually  from 
Philadelphia  to  supply  the  settlers.  The  mending 
was  done  by  an  itinerant  cobbler  who  carried  his 
little  pack  of  leather  used  in  the  mending,  with  his 
tools,  from  one  farm  house  to  another.  Tailors  and 
blacksmiths  were  also  itinerants.  The  same  incon- 
venience attended  the  introduction  of  schools.  The 
first  schoolmaster  was  known  only  as  "  Der  Dicke 
(thick)  Schulmeister"  and  it  goes  without  saying 
that  he  was  crude  in  his  art  and  often  mercenary  in 
his  motives. 

The  privileges  of  the  church  could  only  be  en- 
joyed by  going  to  Lancaster,  where  a  Reformed 
Church  was  built  as  early  as  1736.  It  is  said  that 
"  ministers  from  the  other  side  of  the  river"  were 


ANCESTRY. 


77 


wont  to  come  over  once  or  twice  a  year  to  baptize 
the  children.  However,  the  lot  for  the  Kreutz 
Creek  Church  was  taken  up  October  27,  1746,  and 
there  was  a  church  erected  soon  thereafter.  The 
settlers  maintained  their  religion  and  church  serv- 
ices, though  at  times  they  were  disheartened  and 
scattered,  only  to  be  brought  back  again  and  pro- 
vided with  shepherds  by  such  heroic  missionaries  as 
Zinzendorf,  Muhlenberg,  and  Schlatter.  On  the 
occasion  of  celebrating  the  H5th  anniversary  of 
the  organization  of  the  German  Reformed  Church 
in  the  city  of  Lancaster,  October  n  and  12,  1851, 
Dr.  Harbaugh,  pastor  of  the  church,  delivered  sev- 
eral historical  discourses.  Among  other  things,  he 
said : 

"  The  members  of  this  congregation,  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  always,  took  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  the 
cause  of  education.  Their  school  house,  as  they  say, 
was  *  erected  almost  since  the  first  settlement  of  the 
town.'  It  was  no  doubt  built  at  the  same  time  with 
the  church,  for  in  their  minds  the  church  and  school 
were  inseparable.  Their  ideas  of  the  culture  of  their 
children  was,  *  from  the  family  into  the  school,  from  the 
school  into  the  church,  and  from  the  church  into 
heaven.' 

' '  The  first  Reformed  ministers  in  this  country  were 
men  of  learning,*  and  knew  therefore  the  value  of  this 


*The  Reverend  Jedediah  Andrews,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  of 
the  class  oi  1695,  in  a  letter  dated  Philadelphia,  1730,  says  in  evident  sur- 


78  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

interest.  Their  classical  learning  was  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise and  wonder  to  the  English  divines  of  this  coun- 
try. It  has  already  been  shown  in  this  discourse  that 
the  largest  number  of  the  pastors  of  this  congregation 
were  men  of  regular  university  education.  They  re- 
garded the  business  of  education  as  belonging  rather  to 
the  church  than  to  the  state  ;  and  hence  manifested  the 
same  zeal  for  it  as  they  did  for  any  other  religious 
duty.  Success  attended  their  zeal.  It  was  known  that 
the  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter,  the  first  regular  missionary 
of  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  this  country,  had 
as  an  important  part  of  his  mission  assigned  to  him  the 
duty  of  establishing  and  superintending  schools.  He 
labored  in  this  cause  in  Lancaster  also.  It  is  said  in 
regard  to  these  schools,  '  so  rapidly  indeed  had  the 
scholars  increased,  and  with  so  much  success  were  the 
schools  conducted,  under  the  united  efforts  and  perse- 
vering industry  of  the  Lutheran  and  German  Re- 
formed congregations  that  from  about  the  year  1745  to 
1784,  they  were  almost  the  only  schools  of  character  in 
the  county,  except  those  at  Ephrata  and  L,ititz. ' 

'  *  Again  it  is  said  in  regard  to  these  same  Germans  : 
*  For  their  attachment  to  learning  and  their  untiring 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  education,  they  receive  but  little 
credit,  even  from  those  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
facts,  independent  of  their  German  origin,  should 

prise  :  "There  is  lately  come  over  a  Palatinate  candidate  of  the  ministry, 
who  having  applied  to  us  at  the  Synod  (Scotch  Synod)  for  ordination,  'tis 
left  to  three  ministers  to  do  it.  He  is  an  extraordinary  person  for  sense 
and  learning.  We  gave  him  a  question  to  discuss  about  Justification  and 
he  answered  it  in  a  whole  sheet  of  paper,  in  a  very  notable  manner.  His 
name  is  John  Peter  Miller,  and  speaks  Latin  as  readily  as  we  do  our  ver- 
nacular tongue,  and  so  does  the  other,  Dr.  Weiss  !"  Mirable  dictu  ! 


ANCESTRY.  79 

prompt  them  upon  all  occasions  to  become  their  readiest 
defenders.  How  many  schemes  for  the  dissemination 
of  knowledge  among  men  have  they  not  successfully 
devised,  and  other  nations,  as  well  as  ourselves,  as  suc- 
cessfully put  into  operation,  without  so  much  as  credit- 
ing the  source  from  whence  derived  ?  With  no  other 
people  would  it  have  been  attempted,  and  they  have 
submitted  to  the  moral  wrong  only  because  they  re- 
joiced more  in  the  good  that  followed  to  others  than  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  honor  that  was  due  to  the  dis- 
covery for  themselves.' 

'  *  So  much  we  have  thought  proper  to  say  by  way  of 
correcting  the  common  slander — is  there  a  softer  name  ? 
—which  it  is  still  fashionable  to  perpetuate,  not  only 
among  the  wise  descendants  of  those  who  made  the 
Blue  lyaws  and  who  burnt  witches,  but  among  some 
whose  grandfathers  spake  only  German." 

The  Pennsylvania-German  Society,  although  in 
existence  but  a  few  years,  has  rescued  and  put  in 
form  to  be  preserved,  much  of  the  history  and  liter- 
ature of  this  sturdy  people.  The  Rev.  Paul  de 
Schweinitz  speaks  thus  of  them  :  "These  early 
emigrants  were  intensely  religious,  and  their  de- 
scendants as  a  people  have  remained  so.  The  lan- 
guage they  brought  with  them,  which  is  still  used 
in  their  German  churches,  testifies  to  this.  The 
German  language  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  ex- 
pression of  religious  and  spiritual  experiences. 
They  brought  with  them  to  this  country  their  in- 


8o  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

born  love  for  the  masterpieces  of  musical  creation, 
and  they  have  been  largely  instrumental  in  intro- 
ducing to  the  American  churches  the  uplifting 
anthems  of  Mozart,  Beethoven,  Haydn,  Haendel, 
Mendelssohn,  and  others.  So  difficult  and  profound 
is  the  Passion  Music  of  John  Sebastian  Bach,  that 
its  production  in  this  country  has  been  attempted 
only  twice,  I  believe.  Once  in  Boston,  Mass. ,  and 
the  other  time  with  brilliant  success  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania-German town  of  Bethlehem." 

"  The  social  and  religious  life  among  the  Ger- 
mans of  Pennsylvania  and  neighboring  states,  one 
hundred  years  ago,  was  peculiar  to  itself,  and  its 
history  has  its  own  charm,"  writes  Dr.  Harbaugh, 
in  his  life  of  Schlatter.  UA  retiring  and  rural 
people  were  our  forefathers.  Isolated  to  a  great 
extent  from  others  by  language,  social  habits,  re- 
ligion, and  even  the  character  of  their  secular  pur- 
suits, they  dwelt  in  the  fertile  and  friendly  valleys 
of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Vir- 
ginia, ambitious  only  for  the  quiet  ways  of  peace 
and  love.  It  cannot  be  uninteresting  even  to 
strangers,  and  certainly  not  to  their  own  children, 
to  be  presented  with  a  picture,  even  though  it  may 
be  very  imperfect,  of  the  social  and  religious 
features  of  the  olden  time  among  the  Germans. 
Such  a  picture  must  come  forward  in  the  life  and 
labors  of  a  man  like  Michael  Schlatter,  who  earn- 


ANCESTRY.  8 1 

estly  identified  himself  with  their  highest  educa- 
tional and  religious  interests  for  the  space  of  more 
than  forty  years,  during  the  most  interesting  and 
eventful  period  of  our  country's  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical history. 

"A  true  history  of  Pennsylvania  would  be  one 
that  would  cluster  not  around  its  civil  machinery, 
its  council  records,  its  battle  fields  and  forts,  its 
public  officers  and  schemes  of  state  policy,  but 
one  which  would  thread  on  its  religious  history, 
follow  its  churches  as  they  rose  in  one  valley  and 
settlement  after  another,  the  pioneerings  of  its  early 
pastors  and  the  general  progress  of  piety  and  purity 
in  its  families.  There  is  not  a  family  in  the  State 
whose  history  is  not  prevailingly  bound  up  with  its 
venerable  churches  and  well-filled  grave  yards. 
These  were  not  only  the  first  prominent,  sacred, 
and  venerated  places  in  the  early  settlements,  but 
have  always  been  the  centers  to  which  the  deepest 
and  most  earnest  thoughts  of  men  have  tended,  and 
from  which  have  gone  out  those  moulding  influ- 
ences which  have  made  individuals,  families,  val- 
leys, and  the  State  itself,  as  wealthy,  worthy,  and 
peaceful  as  they  are." 

Tradition  says  that  Yost  Harbaugh  was  a  man  of 
stout  physical  frame,  energetic  spirit  and  great 
courage — just  such  a  man  as  would  enter  upon  a 
new  settlement  and  brave  the  dangers  and  endure 


82  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

the  hardships  of  a  border  life.*  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Reformed  Church.  This  is  certain  from  the 
fact  that  he  came  from  Switzerland,  where  all  are 
confirmed  to  the  church  at  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Among  the  records  of  the  Kreutz  Creek  Church  are 
the  baptism  of  children  of  his  sons  Yost  and  John, 
as  early  as  1759,  which  was  before  his  death.  This 
indicates  that  he  raised  his  children  to  the  faith  and 
worship  of  the  Reformed  Church.  He  helped  to 
found  the  German  Reformed  Congregation  at  York, 
Pa.,  and  was  a  member  of  it.  He  aided  in  build- 
ing the  first  church  there.  An  old  manuscript 
agreement,  in  which  are  laid  down  the  principles 
on  which  the  church  shall  be  built,  and  the  rules 
by  which  the  congregation  shall  be  governed,  con- 
tains his  name  signed  by  himself,  under  date  of 
March  17,  1745.  His  sons  were  members  at 
Kreutz  creek,  and  the  Reformed  Church  has  been 
since  the  prevailing  ecclesiastical  connection  of 
nearly  all  the  families  which  have  sprung  from  this 
patriarch.  Yost  Harbaugh  is  buried,  it  is  thought, 
in  the  grave  yard  at  Kreutz  creek,  though  there  is 
no  stone  to  mark  his  grave.  There  remains  on  the 
western  side  of  the  grave  yard  a  stone  which 
marks  the  grave  of  one  of  his  daughters  who  died 
in  1790,  and  this  may  be  safely  taken  as  designa- 
ting the  place  of  family  interment.  He  died  in 

*At  this  and  other  places  in  this  chapter,  the  words  of  Dr.  Harbaugh 
have  been  freely  used,  from  the  Annals  of  the  Harbaugh  Family. 


ANCESTRY.  83 

April,  1762.  His  will,  which  is  a  quaint  and  curi- 
ous document  of  considerable  length,  was  recorded 
April  27,  1762,  in  York  County.  As  an  expression 
of  his  intentions  it  was  no  doubt  satisfactory,  but 
the  scrivener  who  drew  it  evidently  had  more  re- 
gard to  the  form  and  letter,  than  to  the  spirit  of  the 
law.  In  quite  a  long  preamble  the  testator  ac- 
knowledges his  gratitude  to  God.  u  Being  very 
sick  and  weak  in  body  but  perfect  of  mind  and 
memory  thanks  be  given  therefore  unto  god  there- 
fore calling  unto  mind  the  mortality  of  my  body 
and  knowing  that  it  is  appointed  for  all  men  once 
to  Dye,  I  do  mak  and  ordain  this  my  Last  Will  and 
Testament."  As  to  his  body,  he  recommends  that 
"it  be  buried  in  a  Christian  like  and  desend  maner 
nothing  Doubting  but  at  the  general  Resurrection 
I  shal  receive  the  Same  again  by  the  mighty  pwr 
of  god."  And  touching  his  worldly  estate,  he  be- 
queaths to  his  wife,  "Twelve  Pounds  of  good  and 
lawful  money  of  Pennsylvania  &  that  yearly  and 
every  year  so  long  as  she  abids  a  widow,  and  she 
shal  have  a  full  right  to  the  Spring  hous  to  Live 
thereon  or  in  and  to  any  one  of  the  Cows  in  the 
stable  .  .  .  and  a  Chist  to  hir  own  use  and  that  to 
hir  and  hir  assigns  for  Ever."  And  to  his  ten 
children  the  estate  is  "  Equal y  divided  Share  and 
Shear  alike  to  the  ouldest  no  more  than  the  youngst 
or  any  of  the  rest."  There  is  a  memorandum 
marked  "  Beni"  at  the  end  of  the  will  in  which  the 


84  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

wife  is  further  provided  for,  uand  any  of  the  Ex- 
ecutors if  the  have  any  money  in  hand  for  any  of 
the  Legasses  if  the  Can  not  lend  it  out  as  the  think 
proper  shall  not  be  obliged  to  pay  interess  for  it. 
This  has  been  forgit  to  put  in  the  will  afore  signed 
and  sealed. "  The  paper  was  first  probated  before 
one  John  Adlum,  who  styles  himself  u  One  of  His 
Magosty's  Justices  of  the  Peace,"  but  the  Court 
afterwards  decided  it  to  be  insufficient  and  the  pro- 
bate was  then  made  before  the  proper  officer. 

This  Swiss  emigrant,  Yost  Harbaugh,  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  family  in  America,  was  twice  mar- 
ried, having  by  h  s  first  union  six  children  and  by 
his  second  four.  Three  of  his  sons  by  the  first  mar- 
riage found  their  way  into  the  border  land  of  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania  and  permanently  settled  in 
a  small  valley  in  Frederick  County,  Maryland, 
which  afterwards  came  to  be  known  as  Harbaugh's 
Valley.  No  doubt  they  were  attracted  there  by  the 
fact  that  a  Swiss  settlement  had  already  been  made. 
Perhaps  the  national  instinct  of  the  Swiss  to  love 
mountainous  regions  had  much  to  do  with  it.  Swiss 
soldiers  have  died  of  homesickness  for  their  native 
Alps,  and  the  hearts  of  emigrants  are  ever  weary  of 
the  plains,  abiding  not  until  they  rest  in  the  shadow 
of  a  mountain.  It  is  the  fortunes  of  the  third  son, 
Jacob,  with  which  we  shall  have  to  do  briefly.  He 
was  born  in  Switzerland  February  5,  1730,  and 
came  with  his  parents  to  America  at  the  age  of  six 


ANCESTRY.  85 

years.  When  quite  a  young  man  he  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  in  Frederick  County,  Maryland,  and 
while  yet  living  with  his  father,  and  long  before  he 
received  his  u  Equal  shear  and  no  more,"  made  fre- 
quent trips  to  the  land  and  worked  at  the  clearing. 
He  was  married  in  April,  1761,  to  Anna  Margaretta 
Smith  and  moved  to  his  new  possessions  shortly 
thereafter.  The  names  of  the  several  tracts  of  land 
composing  his  farm  are  "Mount  Olivet,"  "Sweet 
Land,"  and  "  The  Tied  Dog."  It  was  surrounded 
by  wilderness  when  he  bought  it,  but  he  cleared  it 
up  and  afterwards  added  some  acres  to  the  original 
purchase.  Game  of  all  kinds  was  plentiful  when 
he  moved  there,  and  bear's  meat  was  not  an  un- 
common article  of  diet.  Nor  were  they  at  that 
early  time  free  from  danger  on  account  of  voracious 
and  destructive  wild  beasts. 

Jacob  Harbaugh  was  tall  and  rather  stout  in 
person,  though  somewhat  on  the  strait  order  of 
build.  His  education  was  limited,  but  he  could 
read,  write,  and  keep  his  own  accounts,  and  he 
knew  well  how  to  handle  money  affairs.  He  ruled 
with  perfectly  undisputed  authority  in  his  house 
and  family,  and  his  government  in  that  respect 
would  be  considered  far  too  severe  in  these  days. 
On  Sunday  all  was  perfect  order  about  the  house. 
He  belonged  to  the  German  Reformed  Church,  and 
all  of  his  family  who  were  big  enough  to  go,  at- 
tended services,  often  walking  the  distance  of  six 

6 


86  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

miles.  The  table  fare  was  plain  and  the  furniture 
of  the  house  was  as  simple  and  plain  as  the  fare. 
The  chairs  were  homemade,  the  seats  platted  with 
broad  smooth  shaved  slips  of  white  oak  or  hickory, 
while  the  walls  were  lined  with  plain  benches.  By 
industry  and  economy  Jacob  Harbaugh  prospered 
from  a  worldly  point  of  view  and  in  his  old  age  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  large  amount  of  property.  He 
was  able  to  place  each  of  his  sons  on  a  piece  of 
land  where  they  might  begin  the  world  for  them- 
selves. He  became  quite  venerable  in  appearance 
and  patriarchal  in  his  habits  in  his  old  age.  He 
began  to  exercise  the  same  authority  over  his  grand- 
children that  he  had  over  his  own  children.  Fi- 
nally on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1818,  he  uwas 
gathered  unto  his  people"  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty- 
eight  years  and  three  months.  He  is  buried  on  the 
homestead  farm  in  the  family  grave  yard  by  the 
side  of  his  good  wife,  who  preceded  him  March  18, 
1803.  Two  neat  marble  slabs  with  suitable  in- 
scriptions mark  the  graves.  Jacob,  like  his  father, 
Yost,  had  ten  children,  and  his  descendants,  to- 
gether with  those  of  his  brothers,  L,udwig  and 
George,  form  a  numerous,  widely  scattered,  and 
thoroughly  respectable  class  of  citizens. 

Jacob  Harbaugh's  youngest  child,  George,  was 
imbued  with  the  same  spirit  of  industry  and  enter- 
prise that  characterized  his  forefathers.  He  was  born 
in  the  old  homestead  in  the  "  Valley"  March  17, 


ANCESTRY.  87 

1774.  In  his  twenty-sixth  year  he  married  Anna 
Snyder,  daughter  of  Jacob  Snyder,  who  lived  near 
Boonsboro,  Md.,  and  soon  after  his  marriage  settled 
in  Washington  Township,  Franklin  County,  Pa., 
at  the  foot  of  South  Mountain.  There  he  took  up 
a  tract  of  land  almost  wholly  unimproved,  the  same 
being  a  part  of  a  tract  called  the  "  Third  Resurvey 
on  Sarah's  Delight,"  granted  by  patent  unto  Chris- 
topher Shockey  by  Frederick,  then  absolute  Lord 
and  Proprietor  of  the  Province  of  Maryland,  July 
12,  1768. 

A  small  log  house  stood  opposite  the  present 
barn  in  the  orchard  where  he  resided  for  several 
years.  The  stone  house,  so  frequently  and  so 
fondly  spoken  of  in  Pennsylvania-German  poems, 
was  built  in  1805.  The  stones  for  the  front  were 
hauled  from  near  Leitersburg,  a  distance  of  six 
miles,  and  the  capital  available  for  building  at  the 
time  was  two  hundred  dollars.  George  Harbaugh, 
however,  was  an  industrious  man,  and  required  all 
his  children  to  be  usefully  employed.  Like  his 
father,  Jacob,  he  was  strict  in  his  family,  and  a  life 
long  member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  attending 
worship  regularly  at  Waynesboro.  Ministers  fre- 
quently enjoyed  his  home  and  hospitality,  and  he 
was  especially  fond  of  their  company.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  German  Reformed  Church 
at  Waynesboro,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
erection  of  the  church,  which  was  built  of  hewn 


88  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

logs.  The  inside  work  was  wrought  out  by  the 
carpenters  in  his  barn  and  hauled  to  town  by  his 
teams.  He  was  also,  in  his  old  age,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  church  near  his  own  home  ;  giving 
the  ground  for  the  site  and  the  grave  yard,  and 
taking  an  active  part  in  its  erection.  He  was  during 
many  years  an  elder  in  the  church,  and  in  his  last 
years  especially  attended  diligently  to  the  duties  of 
that  office.  He  was  strictly  temperate  in  his  habits 
and  moderate  in  his  views.  He  was  averse  to  all 
excitement  in  politics,  wild  speculation  in  business, 
and  fanaticism  in  religion.  In  his  mellow  old  age 
he  was  known  far  and  near  and  beloved  by  all.  In 
his  death  the  community  sustained  a  great  loss  and 
especially  the  needy,  distressed,  and  sick,  to  whom 
he  attended  with  a  father's  care.  On  February  3, 
1853,  aged  seventy-eight  years  and  ten  months,  he 
passed  away.  He  sleeps  with  others  of  the  family 
in  the  graveyard  on  the  farm.  His  wife,  Anna, 
born  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  died 
October  31,  1837,  aged  fifty  years  and  five  months, 
and  lies  buried  by  her  husband's  side. 

They  had  twelve  children — sons  and  daughters — 
nearly  all  of  whom  lived  to  a  good  age,  but  all  have 
passed  away  except  David,  who  has  been  a  most 
zealous  and  able  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
and  is  still  an  active  man  of  God  and  an  exemplary 
citizen,  residing  at  present  in  Colorado  Springs, 
Colo. 


ANCESTRY.  89 

The  tenth  child  of  George  and  Anna  Harbaugh 
was  Henry  Harbaugh — 1817-1867,  the  subject  of 
the  following  pages  : 

And  so  we  have  the  progenitor  and  great-grand- 
father, Yost ;  the  grandfather,  Jacob  ;  the  father, 
George,  and  the  son,  Henry — all  honorable  men  of 
good  report ;  all  long  since  passed  over  to  the  spirit 
world,  and  their  works  do  live  after  them. 

When  these  ancestors  settled  in  York  County  and 
in  the  Valley  and  elsewhere,  the  country  was  wild 
and  unbroken.  On  their  own  land  they  felled  the 
forests,  cleared  the  soil,  and  erected  homes  for  them- 
selves and  their  descendants.  All  this  was  done  by 
many  a  weary  and  earnest  stroke.  They  were  econ- 
omical, but  bore  the  name  of  being  good  to  the 
poor,  and  of  practicing  the  virtue  of  hospitality. 
They  were  sober,  kept  their  promises,  and  paid 
their  debts,  and  were  professors  of  the  Christian 
religion.  It  is  a  duty  and  a  pleasure  to  cherish  the 
memory  of  those  who  have  thus  gone  before  us.  To 
contemplate  their  lives  and  to  grasp  the  spirit  of 
their  goodness  cannot  be  but  a  blessed  inspiration. 


II.     CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH   ON  THE 
FARM. 

HIvMOST  within  the  shadow  of  South  Moun- 
tain, on  the  Pennsylvania-Maryland  boundary 
line  four  miles  southeast  of  Waynesboro,  Pa.,  stands 
the  old  Harbaugh  homestead.  The  house  is  a  double 
front  stone  structure  whose  substantial  walls,  built 
in  1805,  bid  fair  to  weather  the  storms  of  another 
century,  while  its  less  durable  companion  piece,  the 
school  house  at  the  creek,  u  Juscht  neekscht  an's 
Dady's  Haus,"  lives  only  in  the  song  of  the 
u  Harfe."  Here  amid  the  homely  scenes  of  Penn- 
sylvania-German country  life,  George  Harbaugh 
and  Anna  his  wife  lived  and  reared  their  children, 
and  here  it  was  that  Henry  was  born  on  October 
28,  1817. 

In  after  years,  when  visiting  the  old  home,  he 
was  wont  to  stroll  through  every  corner  of  the  house 
from  cellar  to  garret.  Rummaging  among  the  old 
lumber,  usually  stowed  away  in  the  garret,  his  eye 
fell  upon  the  cradle,  which  he  thus  describes  : 

'  *  There  is  one  piece  of  furniture  in  the  corner  of  the 
garret,  the  sight  of  which  touches  us  more  strangely 
than  all  the  rest,  and  awakens  feelings  of  a  peculiar 
kind.  It  is  the  cradle  in  which  we  all — the  boys  and 
the  girls — were  rocked  in  infancy.  It  is  of  the  old 


FATHER  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 
A  DAOUBRRBOTYPB  IN  THB  POSSESSION  OF  THE  RBV.    DAVID  HARBAUOH.   COLORADO  SPRINGS.   COLO. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  9I 

fashioned  make,  and  never  was  capable  of  the  long, 
gentle  sweep  and  swing  of  the  modern  cradles.  Broad 
and  flat,  with  rockers  well  worn,  it  hath  little  grace  in 
its  motion,  but  waddles  clumsily,  like  a  duck.  Yet 
sweet  in  it  was  the  sleep,  and  pleasant  were  the  dreams 
of  infancy  ;  and  over  no  cradle,  no,  not  in  palaces,  has 
a  warmer  mother's  heart,  or  a  more  watchful  mother's 
eye,  ever  hung  and  sighed,  smiled,  prayed,  and  wept." 

This  stout  oak  cradle,  the  only  tangible  associa- 
tion of  his  infancy  now  in  existence,  was  but  a  step 
in  advance  of  the  hollow  gum  log  shut  in  at  both 
ends  with  a  board,  made  to  lie  upon  the  floor  like  a 
half  moon  on  its  back,  in  which  the  worthies  of 
the  generation  preceding  him  had  slept  and  dreamed 
the  sweet  dreams  of  infancy.  Under  the  guidance 
of  exceptionally  pious  parents  and  in  association 
with  brothers  and  sisters,  both  older  and  younger 
than  himself,  Henry  Harbaugh  first  awakened  to 
conscious  life,  and  began  to  reveal  a  personality  that, 
at  the  end  of  his  alloted  fifty  years,  had  not  yet 
wholly  unfolded  in  all  its  possibilities.  While  yet 
in  very  tender  years,  he  seemed  to  read  a  solemn 
meaning  in  the  shadows  cast  upon  the  white  walls 
of  the  stairway  by  the  flickering  candle,  or  in  the 
moaning  of  the  wind  through  the  tall  poplars  ;  but 
all  this  was  the  early  fruit  of  a  sound  imagination, 
and  meanwhile  he  breathed  in  courage  and  strength 
of  mind  and  body  and  grew  sturdy  and  strong  like 
a  tree  in  the  open.  His  early  mental  growth  was 


92 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


marked  by  a  gradual  unfolding  not  marked  any- 
where in  its  course  by  special  brilliancy.  He  was 
propelled  into  a  channel  of  intellectual  activity 
wholly  by  a  power  within  himself.  His  pastor,  the 
Rev.  F.  A.  Scholl,  on  one  occasion  suddenly  stopped 
a  conversation  he  was  holding  with  the  father,  and 
laying  his  hand  upon  the  boy's  head,  said  :  "You 
must  become  a  preacher. ' '  The  recollection  of  that 
incident  was  to  some  extent  a  directing  light  but 
not  a  vital  incident  in  his  career.  The  opposition 
of  a  stern  parent,  who  made  a  tardy  recognition  of 
the  superior  talents  of  his  son,  served  as  a  stimulus 
to  the  boy's  purposes.  But  in  the  light  of  his  after 
struggles,  his  failures  and  his  triumphs,  it  may  be 
fairly  asserted  that  no  purely  human  agency  could 
have  swerved  the  sensitive  soul  and  religious  genius 
from  his  course  or  imperiled  his  entry  into  the  holy 
ministry.  He  had  been  dedicated  to  God  in  holy 
baptism  in  early  infancy,  and  was  confirmed  June 
4,  1836,  at  Waynesboro,  Pa.  Of  these  events  he 
wrote  in  the  Guardian  of  November,  1854 : 

"  Not  long  ago,  I  unexpectedly  got  into  my  hands  the 
records  of  the  church  where  my  parents  worshipped, 
where  we,  their  children,  were  baptized,  and  where  I 
recorded  my  first  vows  in  confirmation.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Record  Book  there  was  a  brief  account  of 
the  organization  of  the  church,  many,  many  years  ago  ! 
There  was  the  purpose  and  the  pledge  of  those  who  were 
willing  to  enter  into  its  first  organization.  There  were 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 


93 


the  rules  by  which  they  engaged  to  be  governed  ;  and 
under  these  were  subscribed  the  names  of  fifteen  mem- 
bers, who  solemnly  began  this  church,  in  their  own 
handwriting.  Among  them  were  the  names  of  my 
father  and  mother.  Ah,  what  feelings  that  record  pro- 
duced, no  one  but  myself  can  fully  know.  They  are 
dead,  and  as  their  lives  on  earth  prove,  in  Heaven. 
How  much  had  that  record  to  do  with  this  happy  re- 
sult?" 

The  blessed  heritage  of  a  pious  faith  was  already 
his.  He  possessed  a  cheerful  spirit  and  a  happy 
blending  of  things  practical,  with  a  keen  boyish 
imagination  and  sense  of  the  mysterious.  His 
youngest  sister  persisted  in  remembering  him  as  a 
mischievous  boy,  though  this  recollection  was  dwelt 
upon  in  the  evening  of  her  life,  and  in  evident  con- 
templation of  the  attainments  of  her  then  Doctor 
of  Divinity  brother.  Mischievous,  that  qualifying 
word  with  many  shades  of  meaning,  was  really 
softened  into  a  complimentary  reference  by  the  ex- 
pression of  pride  on  her  kindly  face. 

The  older  boys  of  the  Harbaugh  household  were 
farmers.  They  accepted  that  life  in  good  earnest, 
and  were  afterwards  faithful  and  successful  in  that 
pursuit.  Henry  suffered  by  contrast  before  he  grew 
tip  to  reach  the  handles  of  a  plow.  Upon  a  trip  to 
the  mountain  sawmill,  he  was  far  more  eager  about 
the  legend  of  Mount  Misery  than  he  was  about  the 
proper  loading  of  the  logs  upon  the  wagon.  The 


94 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


curious  old  coins  that  were  one  day  turned  up  by 
the  plow  interested  him  more  than  the  plow  that 
turned  them  up.  He  chose  to  contemplate  the 
majesty  of  the  forest  trees  and  the  life  that  teemed 
among  them  rather  than  to  assist  in  reducing  such 
haunts  of  nature  to  practical  and  commercial  levels. 
He  made  the  birds  around  the  old  homestead  his 
associates.  How  they  sang  for  him  in  the  morning 
in  the  tree  tops  near  the  house  !  How  they  hurried 
with  many  a  chirp  and  nutter  from  stake  to  stake, 
and  swung  and  sang  their  songs  in  mowing-time  on 
the  tall  weeds  in  the  meadow  !  When  he  went 
forth  to  labor  he  knew  them  as  they  floated  grace- 
fully and  leisurely  high  in  the  warm  blue  air.  As 
they  passed  in  droves  away  over  the  sombre  land- 
scape of  autumn  ;  as  they  moved  towards  the  sunny 
South,  his  childish  fancy  conceived  that  they  formed 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  flying  until  they  were 
lost  in  the  dim  distance. 

All  this  was  the  awakening  of  his  poetic  soul, 
and  many  impressive  teachings  were  then  stored  up 
in  his  mind  and  made  to  bear  fruit  in  the  thoughts 
of  his  mature  years.  But  he  was  practical  and 
sociable.  He  ran  with  the  other  boys  through  the 
orchard  to  the  dead  tree  where  the  "  yellow  ham- 
mer" had  his  nest,  and  he  was  among  those  who 
undertook  to  catch  the  bird  while  his  companions 
would  stand  back  and  shout  u  a  snake  in  the  hole," 
just  at  the  critical  moment.  He  would  stand  with 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 


95 


the  others  at  a  certain  point  in  the  orchard  to  hear 
the  echo  answer  back  from  the  barn  door — the  little 
man  in  the  barn,  as  he  was  called. 

Dr.  Bailsman,  writing  in  the  Guardian,  speaks 
of  a  visit  he  once  took  with  Dr.  Harbaugh  to  the 
old  homestead  : 

"  At  length  he  took  me  to  the  '  old  pie  apple  tree,' 
still  bringing  forth  fruit  in  old  age.  The  tree  faces  the 
barn  door.  Standing  here  the  boys  used  to  call  to  '  the 
little  man  in  the  barn/  as  they  called  the  echo  of  their 
voices,  who  would  mock  them  with  his  prompt  replies 
to  their  questions.  We  both  stood  under  the  old  tree, 
facing  the  barn  door,  when  he,  with  grotesque  sol- 
emnity, and,  if  I  err  not,  with  hat  in  hand,  woke  up 
with  his  trumpet  voice  the  little  man  in  the  barn  as 

follows : 

Harbaugh — Ho  !  ho  !  still  alive  ? 
Little  Man— Ho  !  still  alive. 
H. — Little  man  in  the  barn  ! 
Iv.  M. — Man  in  the  barn. 
H. — Are  you  getting  old  ? 
L.  M. — You  getting  old  ! 
H. — Still  your  voice  is  good. 
I/.  M. — Voice  is  good. 
H. — lyittle  man,  farewell. 
L.  M.— Man,  farewell  !" 

The  suggestion  that  Henry  was  a  mischievous 
boy  might  be  greatly  strengthened,  if  the  tradition 
could  be  positively  confirmed  that  he  once  lured 
several  neighboring  boys  close  to  a  hornets'  nest 
hanging  from  a  tree,  and  then  from  a  safe  distance 


96 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


cast  a  stone  into  it.  So  it  was  as  to  the  school  life 
so  faithfully  pictured  in  u  Das  Alt  Schulhaus  an 
Der  Krick.  "  The  average  school  boy  will  scarcely 
admit  that  such  a  recital  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, of  recreation  and  declarations  of  independ- 
ence, may  be  gathered  from  observation  alone.  And 
even  observation  alone  would  argue  a  slight  infrac- 
tion of  discipline,  for  he  relates  : 

'  '  Uf  eener  Seit  die  grose  Mad 
Un  dort  die  Buwe  net  so  bleed  — 
Guk,  wie  sie  piepe  rum. 

Der  Meeschter  watscht  sie  awwer  scharf, 
Sie  gewe  besser  acht  :  "* 

It  is  related  that  one  morning  little  Heinrich  "  was 
taken  by  the  hand  and  led  to  this  school  house. 
The  schoolmaster  gave  him  a  seat.  Kre  long,  how- 
ever, his  new  scholar  grew  weary  of  the  task  of  sit- 
ting still  so  long.  He  took  his  cap  to  go  home. 
When  he  was  not  allowed  to  escape  through  the 
door,  he  climbed  up  the  logs  of  the  unplastered 
wall,  like  a  squirrel,  seeking  an  outlet  elsewhere. 
The  master  knew  not  what  to  make  of  the  boy,  but  it 
was  here  that  the  strong  boy-will  took  its  first  whole- 
some lessons  by  gradually  yielding  to  authority." 

*Dr.  Harbaugh  has  rendered  these  lines  almost  literally  as  follows  : 

"  Here  on  this  side  the  large  girls  sat, 
And  there  the  tricky  boys  on  that  — 
See  !  how  they  peep  around  ! 

The  Master  eyes  them  closely  now, 
They'd  better  have  a  care." 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  97 

Those  who  have  read  the  UAH  Schulhaus  an 
der  Krick"  will  recognize  it  as  the  one  described 
below,  by  the  author  himself,  in  the  Guardian  of 
April,  1854  : 

1 '  As  to  its  location,  it  was  built  amid  rocks  and  stones 
and  stumps,  near  where  a  small  stream  murmured  by, 
and  at  the  edge  of  a  half -cleared  woods.  Between  it 
and  the  road  lay  the  commons,  which  not  by  right  and 
title,  but  by  custom  and  use,  had  from  time  immemo- 
rial been  the  playgrounds  of  the  school  children.  It  was 
so  near  the  house  and  barn  of  Mr.  Farmer  that,  looking 
over  from  the  road,  you  would  take  it  at  first  glance  to 
be  one  of  the  out-houses  belonging  to  the  farm.  In- 
deed, the  cider  press  building  joined  roofs  at  one  end 
with  the  school  house.  .  .  . 

* '  At  one  corner  of  the  school  house  stood  a  large 
white  oak  tree,  along  whose  sides  grew  up  a  very  large 
grape  vine,  which  extended  itself  all  over  the  lower 
limbs  of  the  tree,  and  in  summer  they  hung  down  upon 
the  roof.  Happily,  if  not  for  the  intellectual  benefit  of 
the  children,  yet  happily  for  the  interests  of  the  farmer 
who  owned  the  tree,  there  was  school  only  in  the  win- 
ter, except  a  small  summer  school  for  little  ones,  who 
could  not  climb.  Consequently  there  never  was  any 
opportunity  for  trying  the  strength  of  prohibitions,  or 
the  virtue  of  those  whose  mouths  would  water  in  the 
sight  of  forbidden  fruit.  ...  On  the  west  side  of  the 
school  house  was  a  long  window,  made  by  sawing  out 
two  logs,  and  the  introduction  of  low  two-pane  sliding 
windows.  Along  the  inside  was  a  long  double  desk 


98  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

sloped  on  both  sides  for  the  large  boys,  that  read,  wrote, 
and  ciphered.  Along  the  gable  was  a  similar  desk  for 
the  big  girls." 

The  manner  of  life  at  the  Harbaugh  homestead 
was  characterized  by  great  simplicity.  Until 
Henry  was  ten  years  of  age  not  a  floor  in  the  house 
could  boast  a  carpet  ;  not  a  single  window  flour- 
ished a  curtain.  It  was  quite  an  event  when  at 
length  the  floor  was  laid  with  a  striped  homemade 
oil-cloth.  This  wonder  of  the  age  was  often  visited 
with  joy  by  the  children  while  it  was  in  course  of 
preparation  on  the  garret  floor.  When  it  was  at 
last  actually  fitted  to  its  place  it  remained  for  a  long 
time  the  pride  of  the  household.  Then  the  other 
rooms  began  to  look  bare  and  cheerless  by  contrast, 
and  the  girls  of  the  family  became  correspondingly 
restless.  Although  sweet  and  clean  under  the  in- 
fluence of  sand  and  soap,  bare  floors  were  no  longer 
to  be  tolerated,  and  the  good  old  customs  of  sim- 
plicity and  economy,  to  that  extent  at  least,  must 
give  way  to  a  more  modern  finish.  Gradually, 
therefore,  every  floor  in  the  house  received  its  soft 
covering  and  many  of  the  solid  comforts  of  a  home 
crept  in  under  the  management  of  a  rising  genera- 
tion. The  mother  of  this  household  accepted  the 
innovation  graciously,  for  she  was  a  true  woman 
and  took  pride  in  maintaining  her  home  with  all 
the  cheerfulness  and  comfort  that  the  means  at 
hand  would  afford.  To  her  it  was  the  earthly  par- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 


99 


adise,  and  diligence  in  the  affairs  of  her  house  she 
considered  one  of  her  most  important  duties.  She 
kept  a  clean  and  neat  kitchen  and  all  the  boards 
that  were  not  painted  or  carpeted  were  always 
smooth  and  white  from  the  application  of  sand  and 
a  scrubbing  brush.  Seldom  was  it  that  the  last 
two  hours  of  Saturday  evening  were  not  spent  in 
examining,  folding  up,  and  laying  into  their  proper 
places  the  raiment  for  the  coming  Sunday.  She 
pitied  the  unfortunate  with  a  sincere  grief  and  was 
always  good  to  the  poor.  She  was  one  of  those 
peculiar  old-fashioned  mothers  who  have  graced 
every  generation  of  the  world's  history,  from  whose 
doors  one  may  see  many  a  less  prosperous  neighbor 
depart  with  full  baskets  and  full  hearts. 

In  "The  Annals  of  the  Harbaugh  Family," 
Henry  Harbaugh  drew  his  own  picture  of  his 
mother : 

"  In  personal  appearance  she  was  not  tall,  but  heavy. 
She  always  enjoyed  good  health  ;  and  even  in  her  last 
years,  retained  a  ruddy  color,  and  when  exercising 
freely  had  rosy  cheeks.  She  was  industrious,  mild,  and 
kind  hearted  to  her  children,  and  always  good  to  the 
poor.  At  the  time  of  my  mother's  death,  I  was  in 
Ohio,  and  did  not  hear  of  her  sickness  till  I  heard  of 
her  death.  I  had  spent  the  summer  in  Harrisonville 
and  returned  to  Massilon  in  November,  1837.  My 
cousin,  residing  there,  had  just  received  a  letter  con- 
taining the  sad  news  for  ine  ;  it  having  been  directed  to 


I00  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

him  because  it  was  known  at  home  that  I  expected 
about  that  time  to  be  there.  He  immediately  asked  me 
to  take  a  walk  with  him.  We  found  our  way  into  a 
woods  south  of  town,  where  he  opened  to  me  the 
touching  news.  Her  image  came  up  to  me,  not  as 
dead — for  I  could  not  see  her  so — but  as  she  stood 
leaning  upon  the  railing  of  the  porch  in  tears,  when  I 
was  entering  the  carriage  to  leave  for  the  West,  over  a 
year  before.  In  this  way,  and  in  no  other,  have  I  seen 
her  ever  since.  In  this  position  only  do  I  desire  to  see 
her — it  is  the  best  picture  of  her  true  character,  always 
affectionate,  bearing  tenderly  upon  her  heart  of  hearts 
the  temporal  and  eternal  good  of  her  children.  I 
cherish  this  image  of  my  weeping  mother.  I  can  so 
easily  transfer  this  recollection  of  her  to  the  state  of 
the  glorified  in  Heaven,  where  all  the  beautiful  is 
permanent.  So  will  I  see  her,  till  I  meet  her  in  the 
bloom  of  immortal  youth,  clothed  in  the  pure  white 
robes  of  the  sainted,  in  our  Father's  house  above. 

' '  She  used  to  say,  *  Give  to  the  poor  and  you  will 
always  have.'  I  suppose  she  learned  this  from  an  old 
Book  that  used  to  lie  on  the  corner  of  the  mantel,  and 
over  which  she  used  to  pore  full  many  an  hour.  It 
pleaseth  me  greatly  that  I  can  recollect  this  of  my 
mother,  now  that  she  sleeps  in  yonder  grave.  I  never 
heard  my  mother  boast  of  what  she  had  done  ;  when 
she  gave,  it  was  all  so  natural  with  her,  and  she  did  it 
so  quietly — just  as  it  is  with  a  tree  when  it  shakes  off 
its  ripe  fruit. 

* '  My  mother  used  to  read  the  Bible  and  go  to 
church.  It  seems  as  if  I  could  still  see  the  carry-all 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  IOi 

move  round  the  corner  of  the  orchard,  towards  the 
little  village  in  which  stood  the  church  where  our 
fathers  worshipped.  It  was  a  plain  way  of  going  to 
church,  but  it  was  the  way  my  mother  went ;  and  I 
verily  believe  she  went  with  a  good  object  in  view  ; 
and  it  is  doubtful  in  my  mind  whether  it  ever  entered 
her  mind  that  it  was  a  shame  to  go  to  church  in  a 
carry-all.  It  is  a  long  time  since  then,  and  times  and 
customs  have  greatly  changed,  but  still  it  giveth  me 
much  pleasure  to  think  of  the  old  Book  on  the  end  of 
the  mantel,  that  my  mother  used  to  read  on  Sunday 
afternoons  after  she  returned  from  church.  I  cannot 
get  rid  of  the  idea  that  it  was  her  church-going,  in 
connection  with  that  Book,  that  made  her  so  good  a 
mother." 

So  Henry  Harbaugh  passed  his  boyhood,  in  the 
winter  months  at  the  school  house  by  the  creek  ;  in 
the  summer  turning  the  hay  rows  or  following  after 
the  grain  cradles  in  the  broad  acres  of  the  harvest 
field.  Perchance  he  would  steal  away  to  the  moun- 
tain side,  there  to  commune  with  nature  or  to  pon- 
der over  his  well-thumbed  book,  away  from  the 
thoroughfares,  far  away  from  the  towns  where  only 
the  faintest  din  of  the  noisy  work  is  heard  and  the 
tallest  spire  of  the  distant  town  is  almost  hid. 
Many  an  hour  he  spent  watching  the  glistening 
surface  of  the  winding  stream  or  the  tall  poplars 
swaying  in  front  of  the  quiet  mountain  brow  afar 
off.  An  ideal  place  indeed  for  reading  and  study, 


I02  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

where  physical  health  makes  meditation  vigorous, 
and  where  separation  from  the  great  flow  of  busy 
life  makes  interruptions  few. 

Into  his  quiet  retreats  there  crept  many  a  rude, 
disturbing  element,  and  when  duty  called  him 
back  to  the  farm  he  grasped  the  handles  and  plodded 
along  behind  the  plow  with  a  cheerfulness  of  spirit 
that  sustained  and  strengthened  his  reluctant  hand. 
But  he  was  not  simply  a  dreamer.  Between  brain 
and  brawn  there  was  a  goodly  balance  wheel.  He 
had  no  apology  for  idleness,  which  he  characterized 
as  a  burden  to  oneself,  a  trouble  to  others,  and  an 
offense  to  God.  But  in  the  rhythm  of  nature  he  had 
an  enduring  part,  and  the  ordinary  incidents  of 
labor  led  to  reflections  of  mind.  Through  the  prac- 
tical all  around  him  he  perceived  the  ideal,  and 
throughout  boyhood  and  youth  his  mental  treasury 
was  being  fortified  and  replenished  at  the  expense 
of  a  constant  drain  upon  his  material  resources. 
He  took  notes  almost  from  the  time  he  was  able  to 
write  and  in  so  doing  he  was  regular  and  system- 
atic. His  earliest  book  of  the  kind  to  which  he 
referred  frequently  in  after  years,  has  never  been 
found  among  his  papers,  though  in  an  article  in 
the  Guardian  he  declares  that  he  would  not  part 
with  it  for  money.  Some  curious  loose  papers 
remain  which  illustrate  how  frank  he  was  and 
unreserved  in  expression.  The  rude  characters  in 
boyish  hand  are  in  marked  contrast  to  the  firm, 


CHIIyDOOD  AND   YOUTH. 


103 


clear  penmanship  of  his  mature  years.  The 
spelling  was  unhesitatingly  sacrificed  to  save  the 
thought,  and  yet  one  may  readily  lose  sight  of  the 
uncouth  vehicles  by  which  the  idea  was  fostered 
and  carried  along,  until  it  might  be  needed  to  do 
the  bidding  of  its  master.  Thus  almost  every- 
thing he  wrote  in  those  early  days  exercised  and 
trained  his  mind,  and  in  after  years  he  found  it  not 
only  available  and  useful,  but  pleasant  to  contem- 
plate when  passed  in  review.  How  observant  he 
was  of  the  shifting  panorama  of  nature  may  be 
gathered  in  many  pages  of  the  Guardian,  whose 
founder  and  editor  for  many  years  he  was. 

His  picture  of  a  rainy  day  at  the  farm  is  but  one 
of  many  fond  recollections.  He  does  not  mean  the 
thunder  storm  which  rises  in  mid-afternoon  and 
drives  over  in  an  hour,  but  he  found  beauty  and 
sublimity  in  that  too.  **  Watch  the  deep  dark 
clouds  moving  up  slowly  from  the  western  horizon, 
increasing  in  deepness  and  darkness  as  the  storm 
advances.  Soon  a  bank  of  rolling  clouds  like  a  vast 
arch  extends  across  the  sky  from  which  the  light- 
ning glares  and  darts,  while  muttering  thunder 
shakes  the  earth ;  beneath  the  grand  arch  is  seen 
the  broad  sheet  of  white  descending  rain,  hiding 
the  distant  woods,  sweeping  the  wide  plain  fields, 
and  drawing  still  nearer.  Already  the  birds  are 
silent  in  the  branches  and  the  cattle  move  towards 
a  shelter ;  or,  if  shut  in,  stand  in  mute  wonder  and 


I04  I<IFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

fear,  while  the  plowman  has  unhitched  his  horses 
and  is  riding  towards  the  barn.  .  Scarcely  has  the 
barnyard  gate  closed  upon  him  when  the  big  drops 
fall  like  bullets  into  the  hot  dust  of  the  road,  and 
in  a  moment  more  the  rain  comes  down  almost  a 
torrent,  and  a  fair  sheet  pours  from  the  eves  of  the 
barn.  The  tin  spout  chuckles  in  vain  to  disgorge 
its  overloaded  contents,  and  the  plowman  as  he 
stands  thoughtfully  at  the  stable  door  listens  while 
roaring  wind  and  descending  rain  tell  him  only  the 
more  sweetly  that  he  is  indeed  in  shelter.  It  has 
rained  a  few  hours.  The  sun  has  come  forth,  and 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth  smiles  in  freshness  and 
beauty.  The  horses  have  rested  and  the  plowman 
has  taken  his  supper.  This  done,  he  goes  forth 
again  '  to  his  work  till  the  evening. '  The  sun  has 
a  milder  brightness,  the  fields  are  greener,  and  the 
mountains  have  a  bluer  tinge  through  the  pure  air. " 
u  But  the  rainy  day  we  have  in  mind  is  the 
settled  rain,  one  that  does  not  begin  and  end  on 
the  same  day — a  steady,  deliberate  rain  that  soaks 
the  earth  and  fills  the  rivers.  The  cattle  seem  to 
have  less  fear  of  it  than  they  have  of  the  passing 
summer  shower.  It  comes  not  so  suddenly  and 
thus  cools  them  without  inspiring  terror.  They 
are  the  very  picture  of  patience  as  they  stand  in 
the  barn  yard  to  be  rained  on.  The  farmer  is  not 
impatient  at  this  protracted  rain.  It  will  make  the 
plowing  one  horse  easier.  When  he  goes  forth 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 


105 


again  to  the  fields  he  will  not  turn  up  the  dry  earth 
as  he  did  after  the  thunder  shower.  It  has  pene- 
trated a  full  foot  into  the  ground.  How  nicely  the 
coulter  cuts  the  sod  and  how  smoothly  the  mould- 
board  turns  the  furrow,  and  the  horses  move  in  a 
brisk  pace.  These  rainy  days  are  no  loss  of  time 
to  the  judicious  farmer.  He  will  find  indoor  work 
enough  for  *  the  boys. '  The  plow  irons  must  be 
put  in  proper  order.  The  horse's  gears  must  be 
greased.  The  barn  mows  must  be  cleared  and  put 
to  rights.  The  stables  and  feeding  rooms  need  a 
thorough  overhauling.  It  will  even  do  no  harm 
and  look  only  better  if  the  spider  webs  are  swept 
away  from  the  ceiling  of  the  stables  and  through- 
out the  barn.  There  is  always  some  one  about 
who  is  not  slow  in  wood  work.  An  axe,  a  shovel, 
or  a  fork  needs  a  handle.  A  chair  or  a  bench  is  to 
be  mended,  and  some  of  the  racks  in  the  barn  need 
slight  repairs.  In  short,  there  is  enough  to  do, 
and  there  is  no  need  of  getting  impatient  of  the 
long  rain  or  going  to  the  nearest  tavern  to  pass  the 
time.  In  all  the  sneaking  crowd  that  there  doth 
congregate,  you  will  not  find  one  good  farmer. 
You  shall  see  when  the  rain  is  over  in  what  fresh- 
ness and  beauty  the  earth  will  lie  before  you. 
What  deep  green  the  fields  have  put  on.  The  rain 
has  not  been  licked  up  on  the  surface  as  in  the  hot 
dust  or  sand  ;  it  has  found  its  way  down  to  the 
roots,  and  its  influence  upon  vegetation  will  be 


I06  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

permanent.  The  pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks  ; 
the  valleys  also  are  covered  over  with  corn ;  they 
shout  for  joy ;  they  also  sing. ' ' 

No  one  who  had  been  a  laggard  on  the  farm 
could  have  written  thus ;  no  one  who  had  escaped 
the  practical  work  of  a  farmer  could  have  received 
such  faithful  impressions,  much  less  cherished  them 
unto  the  time  of  his  manhood. 

Thus  in  a  home  into  which  the  stirring  events 
of  the  outside  world  had  already  begun  to  extend 
their  influences,  midst  simplicity,  typical  of  the 
Pennsylvania-German  farmer  life,  Henry  Harbaugh 
grew  from  boyhood  to  youth,  and  in  his  eighteenth 
year  began  to 'grow  restless — weary  of  the  plow 
and  less  than  ever  inclined  to  the  life  around  him. 
He  had  no  quarrel  with  his  father  at  any  time. 
There  is  no  one  to  rise  up  and  say  that  he  was  dis- 
obedient or  anything  but  reverent  in  his  conduct 
towards  either  parent.  No  one  could  have  carried 
into  his  mature  life  a  more  constant  affection  for 
his  mother,  and  with  brothers  and  sisters  he  well 
understood  the  code  of  honor  and  always  rendered 
the  full  measure  of  brotherly  kindness.  Whatever 
his  boyish  faults  that  are  buried  in  the  past  may 
have  been,  his  impulses  were  as  generous  as  they 
were  earnest  and  positive. 

But  the  time  had  come  for  the  parting  of  the 
ways.  The  father,  still  cherishing  the  hope  that 
his  son  would  curb  his  restless  spirit  and  remain 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  IOj 

upon  the  farm,  declined  then  and  afterwards  for 
some  years  to  encourage  him  with  fianancial  assist- 
ance. 

What  would  seem  now  as  a  sort  of  intermediate 
step  to  what  the  boy  proposed  to  do,  was  taken  in 
the  engagement  to  work  in  the  mill  of  his  uncle, 
Elias  Harbaugh,  over  in  the  "Valley."  Whether 
or  not  the  undertaking  to  learn  the  busines  of  a 
miller  was  serious,  he  only  remained  at  it  for 
a  part  of  a  year.  Mills  of  that  day  had  a  way  of 
running  themselves  a  good  part  of  the  time,  and 
this  circumstance  no  doubt  gave  the  coveted  oppor- 
tunity for  the  young  man  to  think  and  to  pore  over 
a  few  books  that  he  had  at  hand.  At  all  events, 
within  a  year  he  had  turned  his  back  on  the  old 
mill  and  his  ancestral  valley,  crossed  over  the 
mountain  and  told  his  father  that  he  was  going 
West. 

"Then,"  writes  Dr.  Theodore  Apple,  "there  was 
a  great  stir  of  course  among  the  Harbaughs,  old 
and  young,  and  the  anxious  question  was  raised  at 
once,  what  is  to  become  of  Unser  Heinrich  ?  The 
father  gave  him  up  as  a  lost  son,  and  the  mother 
stood  on  the  front  porch,  looking  after  him  as  he 
went  down  the  road,  as  she  wiped  away  with  her 
apron  a  flood  of  tears  rolling  down  her  cheeks. 
She  never  saw  him  afterwards.  This  scene  he  de- 
scribed with  his  own  pen  when  he  began  to  use  it, 
in  one  of  his  poems.  Uncle  Jonathan,  who  lived 


I08  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

on  a  neighboring  farm,  was  more  self-possessed. 
He  said  Henry  could  not  be  stopped.  It  would 
either  be  a  make  or  a  break,  and  he  believed  that  it 
would  turn  out  to  be  a  make." 

The  casual  summer  visitor  to  Pen-Mar  Park, 
viewing  the  peaceful  valley  from  u  High  Rock," 
may  have  a  complete  panorama  of  the  scenes  which 
have  been  made  so  familiar  in  the  Pennsylvania- 
German  poems — the  scenes  from  which  Henry 
Harbaugh  so  sadly  turned  away  in  the  summer  of 
1836.  Here  was  his  home,  here  the  favorite  walks, 
the  lonely  retreats,  the  woods  and  streams  which 
he  knew  so  well,  and  all  the  stages  upon  which  he 
acted  in  boyhood  and  youth.  Here  were  many 
hidden  nooks  to  which  he  often  resorted  to  think 
over  his  own  situation,  his  responsibilities,  and  his 
future  hopes  and  fears.  No  one  in  all  that  country 
knew  the  mountain  paths  and  the  winding  way  to 
"High  Rock"  better  than  he  did.  Of  this  he 
wrote  in  the  summer  of  1845:  "  Dr.  Trail  Green 
is  going  to  visit  my  home  with  me,  and  we  intend 
to  go  up  to  '  High  Rock. '  It  is  on  the  mountain 
about  four  miles  from  my  home.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  splendid  views  I  ever  beheld.  It  towers 
high,  and  from  it  is  to  be  seen  a  level  valley  forty 
miles  long  and  twenty-five  broad,  extending  from 
the  South  Mountain  to  the  Alleghenies  in  width 
and  nearly  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Potomac 
rivers  in  length.  All  this  valley  can  be  seen  from 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 


I09 


the  rock — houses,   fields,  woods,  and  streams — all 
lie  in  silent  grandeur  before  the  spectator." 

But  modern  progress  has  greatly  changed  the 
landscape.  Much  of  the  land  has  been  cleared 
for  farms.  Railroads  cut  across  the  country,  bridges 
span  the  meadows,  and  the  shrieking  engines  scale 
the  mountain  side.  Nothing  remains  to  mark  the 
site  of  the  school  house  at  the  creek  save  the  fast 
decaying  portion  of  a  white  oak  stump. 

"  Der  Weisseech  schteht  noch  an  der  Dhier — 
Macht  Schatte  iwwer's  Dach."* 

The  old  cider  press  is  gone.  The  narrow  wind- 
ing path  to  High  Rock,  difficult  to  climb  and  follow, 
has  given  way  to  the  smoothly  graded  highways. 
The  only  remaining  landmarks  are  the  gray  stone 
house,  and  the  quaint,  weather-beaten  barn,  which 
from  the  point  of  view  above  seem  to  stand  close  in 
to  the  base  of  the  mountain. 

Much  of  the  tenderness  and  pathos  of  the  original 
are  lost  in  the  English  translation  of  u  Heemweh," 
but  may  we  not  let  this  little  bit  of  home-memory 
complete  the  imperfect  sketch  ? 

"As  nearer  to  the  spot  I  come 
More  sweetly  am  I  drawn  ; 
And  something  in  my  heart  begins 
To  urge  me  faster  on. 


The  white-oak  stands  before  the  door 
And  casts  its  shadow  on  the  roof. 


IIO  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Ere  quite  I've  reached  the  last  hill-top — 
You'll  smile  at  me,  I  ween  ! — 

I  stretch  myself  high  as  I  can, 
To  catch  the  view  serene — 

The  dear  old  stone  house  through  the  trees 
With  shutters  painted  green  ! 

See  !  really  I  am  near  the  house  ; 

How  short  the  distance  seems  ! 
There  is  no  sense  of  time  when  one 

Goes  musing  in  his  dreams. 
There  is  the  shop — the  corn-crib,  too — 

The  cider-press — just  see  ! 
The  barn — the  spring  with  drinking  cup 

Hung  up  against  the  tree. 
The  yard — fence— and  the  little  gate 

Just  where  it  used  to  be." 


III.     THE  STUDENT  AND  APPRENTICE 
IN  THE  WEST. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  history  of  the  time  may, 
perhaps,  enable  one  to  appreciate  the  influences  that 
prevailed  and  the  conditions  that  confronted  the 
young  man  ambitious  to  succeed  in  life,  but  not 
fully  conscious  as  yet  of  the  resources  at  his  com- 
mand, nor  of  the  direction  his  efforts  might  take. 
Beyond  the  immediate  circle  of  home  life  the 
world  begins  to  widen  rapidly,  and,  as  the  larger 
view  grows  dim  in  detail,  it  intensifies  in  solemn 
reality.  He  who  widens  the  sphere  of  action  for 
himself,  deepens  his  responsibility  to  God  and  his 
fellowmen.  Henry  Harbaugh,  early  in  life,  eagerly 
sought  the  former  condition  ;  how  faithfully  he  as- 
sumed the  latter  may  be  gathered  from  his  life  and 
works. 

The  year  of  1836  found  the  American  people  at 
the  culmination  of  an  exceptionally  brilliant  moral 
and  industrial  revival.*  A  wave  of  temperance 
sentiment  and  activity  had  modified  the  national 
habit  of  eating  and  drinking  too  much.  Industries 
and  public  improvements  had  made  strides  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  upon  a  scale  never  before 
dreamed  of.  The  habit  of  expressing  solicitude 

*  Andrews'  U.  S.  Hist. 


II2  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

for  the  fate  of  the  Union  had  largely  passed  away, 
and  both  of  the  dominant  political  parties  were 
pinning  their  faith  to  the  patriotism  and  good  sense 
of  the  common  people.  Every  American  had  come 
to  believe  in  America.  The  decade  ending  with 
1840,  was  the  transition  period  in  mode  of  travel 
from  the  old  stage  coach  to  railroads  and  canals. 
Ex-President  Madison  had  just  died,  and  such  men 
as  Adams,  Calhoun,  Jackson,  Webster,  and  Clay 
were  exerting  masterly  activity  in  politics  and 
statesmanship ;  the  last  two  named  being  in  the 
midst  of  a  thirty  years'  unsuccessful  struggle  for 
the  presidency.  The  presidential  campaign  of  1836 
was  being  waged  with  great  bitterness.  A  national 
literature  was  in  its  formative  period,  with  Cooper, 
Irving,  Hallack,  and  others  enjoying  the  popularity 
which  was  shared  a  little  later  by  Emerson,  Haw- 
thorne, Longfellow,  and  Whittier.  Manners  and 
habits  of  dress  were  improving  slowly.  Gentlemen 
were  still  to  be  seen  dressed  for  the  street  not  so 
differently  from  the  revolutionary  style,  while 
women  wore  enormous  leghorn  hats,  leg-of-mutton 
sleeves,  and  skirts  barely  reaching  the  ankle. 
Letters  were  folded,  sealed  with  wax,  and  mailed 
without  envelopes  until  1839,  and  stamps  were  not 
used  until  some  years  later.  The  mails  were  slow 
and  uncertain  and  postage  was  a  considerable  item 
of  expense.  In  1834  Chicago  had  one  mail  a  week 
by  a  messenger  on  horse  back.  The  railroad  from 


IN  THE  WEST.  H3 

Philadelphia  to  Columbia,  Pa.,  the  canal  from  there 
to  Hollidaysburg,  the  portage  railway  over  the 
mountains  to  Johnstown  and  the  canal  from  there 
to  Pittsburg  afforded  a  means  of  travel  between 
Hast  and  West  which  began  to  rival  the  old  stage 
lines.  Ohio,  between  the  years  1835  and  1840,  in- 
creased in  population  from  about  one  million  to  a 
million  and  a  half.  It  had  already  become  the 
promised  land  towards  which  the  young  men  of 
Harbaugh's  Valley  in  Pennsylvania  were  turning, 
and  indeed  several  relatives  of  the  family  had 
already  settled  in  this  new  West.  Information  was 
eagerly  sought  as  to  the  best  way  to  go  and  the 
means  of  transportation.  The  whole  subject  was 
talked  over  quietly  at  home,  but  more  boldly  at  the 
blacksmith  shop  or  other  places  of  assembly  during 
the  leisure  hours  of  the  day,  and  at  the  singing 
schools  and  social  gatherings  in  the  evening.  Con- 
flicting reports  came  back  from  the  settlers  of  this 
far  off  country.  As  might  be  expected,  some  had 
succeeded  and  liked  it ;  others  had  failed  and  re- 
turned home.  The  prevailing  opinion  seemed  to 
be  that  it  promised  well  for  all  who  were  willing  to 
work  and  stay  long  enough  to  conquer  their  long- 
ings for  the  blue  mountains  of  Pennsylvania. 

About  the  first  of  August,  1836,  just  one  hun- 
dred years  after  his  great-grandfather  had  come  out 
of  Switzerland  to  seek  a  new  country,  Henry  Har- 
baugh  began  his  journey  over  the  mountains  to- 


II4  IvIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

wards  Ohio.  He  was  not  yet  nineteen  years  old  and 
it  was  not  only  a  new  departure  for  him,  but  also 
the  first  break  in  the  family  circle  in  this  regard. 
His  father  was  displeased  with  the  prospect  and 
gave  merely  a  formal  consent,  withholding  the  gen- 
erous approval  which  the  young  man  so  strongly 
craved.  The  mother  was  heart-broken,  but  her 
farewell  was  as  affectionate  and  tender  as  her  love 
for  all  her  children  had  been  constant  and  true,  and 
the  memory  of  that  parting  at  the  threshold  of  the 
old  home  lingered  through  the  after  years  until  it 
became  enshrined  in  the  tender  pathos  of  "Heem- 
wch. " 

George  Harbaugh  lived  to  recognize  the  talents 
of  his  son  and  to  behold  them  being  rendered  unto 
God  with  manifold  increase,  but  the  mother's  life 
had  almost  run  its  course,  and  "Heemwetfs"  sad- 
dest note  was  struck  : 

Dort  gab  ich  ihr  mei'  Farewell, 

Ich  weinte  als  ich's  gab, 
'S  war's  letschte  Mol  in  dare  Welt, 

Dass  ich's  ihr  gewe  hab  ! 
Befor  ich  widder  kumme  bin 

War  sie  in  ihrem  Grab  !* 

The  little  school  house  by  the  creek  and  its  suc- 

*  'Twas  there  I  gave  her  my  good-bye, 

I  wept  as  it  I  gave, 
It  was  the  last  time  in  this  world 

Her  blessing  I  could  crave. 
Before  I  had  come  back  again 

She  rested  in  her  grave. 


[I 


IN  THE  WEST.  II5 

cessors  in  office  had  already  left  their  impress  on 
the  boys  and  girls  of  the  Harbaugh  family.  They 
could  read  and  write  well  in  the  English  language, 
though  the  Pennsylvania-German  dialect  was  still 
the  means  of  ordinary  communication  in  the  fam- 
ily, and  German  was  largely  used  in  the  services 
and  sermons  of  the  church.  Imperfect  as  the 
school  system  was  and  unsupported  as  it  was  by 
popular  sentiment,  the  average  scholar  of  that  day 
managed  to  acquire  much  general  information  of  a 
practical  kind  from  the  Sckulmeister,  who  was 
sometimes  a  resident  of  the  district,  and  at  other 
times  a  stranger  who  had  perfected  his  education  in 
a  more  highly  favored  institution  of  learning  be- 
yond the  mountains. 

Being  assured  a  temporary  home  with  relatives, 
Henry  Harbaugh  set  out  for  Eastern  Ohio  on  Au- 
gust 4,  1836.  Poor  in  purse  but  hopeful  and  self- 
reliant,  he  engaged  passage  in  the  stage  running 
from  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  through  Bedford,  Somer- 
set, and  Mount  Pleasant  to  Pittsburgh.  As  may 
well  be  supposed,  the  conveniences  of  travel  and 
lodging  were  of  the  simplest  sort,  and  his  first 
touch  of  homesickness  came  early  in  the  journey, 
when  the  stage  arrived  at  Mount  Pleasant :  "  Here 
the  passengers  left  me  for  Wheeling  and  I  was  left 
alone.  I  sat  with  the  driver  fifteen  miles  and  then 
went  in  the  stage,  lay  down  and  slept  as  much  as  I 
could,  and  that  was  not  much." 


H6  IvIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

At  Pittsburgh  he  took  passage  by  steamboat  about 
fifty-three  miles  down  the  Ohio  river  and  from  that 
point  by  stage  and  canal  boat  he  completed  his 
journey.  Within  two  weeks  of  the  time  he  left  his 
home  in  Franklin  County,  Pa.,  he  was  engaged  to 
work  with  a  house  builder  in  Massilon,  Stark 
County,  Ohio,  and  continued  in  that  position  six 
months.  He  noted  the  fact  that  his  employer  was 
u  a  man  with  respectable  ancestors  who  understands 
his  business  well,"  and  was  also  struck  with  the 
extensive  scale  upon  which  building  business  was 
carried  on  in  Ohio,  and  feared  that  it  would  take 
more  of  his  time  than  he  had  to  spare  to  learn  it. 
He  engaged  himself  at  first  for  one  month  for  what- 
ever the  man  pleased  to  give  him,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  he  was  offered  fifty  dollars  a  year  for  two 
years  and  boarding,  which  he  declined.  He  worked 
on,  however,  for  the  first  six  months  without  any 
definite  arrangement  as  to  pay  and  after  that  found 
employment  with  another  man  who  was  engaged  in 
building  machinery. 

He  was  not  in  Massilon  more  than  a  month  until 
his  talents  as  a  singer  began  to  attract  attention. 
He  sang  in  the  church  choir  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
his  stay  in  Massilon,  and  was  kindly  received  by  the 
minister  and  some  members  of  the  congregation. 
A  few  days  after  that  he  was  invited  to  attend  a 
singing  school  several  miles  out  from  the  town. 
He  went  and  sang  for  an  assembled  audience  of 


IN  THE  WEST. 


117 


about  one  hundred  persons,  young  men  and  women, 
and  at  the  suggestion  of  some  of  his  hearers,  he 
organized  a  class  on  the  spot,  having  twenty-four 
names  enrolled  that  evening.  These  singing  classes 
he  kept  up  during  the  winter  months  at  whatever 
place  he  chanced  to  be  during  the  whole  of  his  so- 
journ in  the  West,  and  while  they  yielded  some  in- 
come in  connection  with  his  daily  work,  they  also 
formed  no  small  part  of  his  early  education  and 
culture. 

He  began  a  private  course  of  study  and  reading 
from  the  very  day  he  landed  in  Ohio,  and  he  never 
let  slip  an  opportunity  to  attend  lectures,  debates, 
or  patriotic  meetings,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
them  whenever  invited  so  to  do.  He  formed  some 
very  warm  friendships,  and  engaged  in  a  corres- 
pondence with  several  of  his  most  intimate  friends, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  most  sacred  confidences 
were  exchanged,  and  subjects  of  a  literary  or  reli- 
gious character  were  discussed  in  a  very  systematic 
way  on  the  plan  of  debates.  To  one  thus  engaged 
in  self  education  under  very  limited  advantages  this 
form  of  correspondence  was  invaluable,  and  resulted 
in  some  remarkable  discussions  in  which  are  shown 
very  painstaking  and  original  research  on  the  part 
of  the  authors.  It  was  a  profitable  but  rather  an 
unusual  way  of  spending  the  time  on  the  part  of 
young  men  of  twenty  years.  His  letters  written 
home  contain  much  thoughtful  and  tender  expres- 


Hg  LIFE  OF  HKNRY  HARBAUGH. 

sion,  and,  from  the  very  first,  embodied  a  gentle 
agitation  of  the  question  which  was  uppermost  in 
his  mind.  Scarcely  a  letter  written  to  any  one  in 
the  Bast  omitted  the  request  for  an  opinion  as  to 
his  finishing  his  trade  or  going  to  school.  "  Be 
sure  to  tell  me  in  your  next  all  about  what  the  folks 
think  of  me  learning  the  trade,"  he  writes  perhaps 
two  months  after  he  had  left  home.  And  at  the  end 
of  one  letter  is  this  tell-tale  but  pathetic  sentence  : 
"  I  don't  think  I  will  forever  continue  at  the  car- 
penter business. " 

Gradually  the  accounts  of  his  progress  in  learn- 
ing grew  more  frequent  and  confident  in  tone,  and 
his  epistolary  efforts,  interspersed  liberally  with 
verses  on  various  topics,  began  to  cause  some  un- 
easiness at  home,  consequently  there  were  murmur- 
ings  of  the  rewards  of  changeableness  and  sloth  that 
were  sure  to  overtake  Unser  Heinrich.  In  this  crisis 
a  good  friend  to  whom  Henry  had  gone  to  school 
for  a  while,  came  to  the  rescue  with  some  very 
wholesome  advice.  He  was  blunt  in  expression 
and  went  straight  to  the  mark,  but  he  was  as  kind 
hearted  as  he  was  intelligent,  having  both  the  con- 
fidence of  and  confidence  in  the  young  man  to  whom 
he  addressed  himself.  "I  am  happy  to  find,"  he 
writes,  "  that  the  liberty  I  took  in  criticizing  has 
not  ruffled  you  against  me.  As  some  allusion  is 
made  respecting  metaphor  and  figures  of  speech 
and  mystics,  I  would  briefly  reply  that  it  depends 


IN  THE  WEST.  II9 

much  upon  what  calling  you  pursue.  To  cul- 
tivate them  certainly  refines  the  mind,  and  a 
speaker  can  make  an  object  appear  more  vivid  and 
can  bring  it  out  in  more  than  its  own  true  colors. 
But  my  principal  object  in  making  those  remarks 
was  on  account  of  your  being  flattered  in  your 
poetical  effusions,  and  fearing  that  you  might 
thereby  be  carried  from  the  object  which  I  have 
understood  you  have  in  view,  and  turn  author,  ex- 
pecting thereby  to  support  yourself  by  your  pen. 
I  know  from  biographical  and  other  sketches  that 
literary  men,  particularly  those  who  follow  no  other 
calling,  in  Europe,  have  lived  poor  lives  with  few 
exceptions,  however  famous  they  may  have  been 
after  their  death,  and  even  then  their  progeny  de- 
rived little  from  their  labors  more  than  the  praise 
they  heard  lavished  on  their  works.  And  as  to 
America  it  is  ten  times  worse  in  that  respect  than 
Europe. 

"  Having  learned  from  good  authority  that  you 
intend  to  prepare  yourself  for  the  ministry  and  hav- 
ing some  idea  of  your  means,  I  thought  probably 
you  would  pay  less  attention  to  the  mystic  and  more 
to  the  real  simon  pure,  although  the  reasons  you 
advance  please  me  well,  nor  do  I  wish  to  bind  you 
in  any  contracted  sphere  of  usefulness  as  some  who 
are  spouting  forth  occasionally  their  jealousy  by 
saying  you  wish  to  be  better  than  other  people  and 
wish  to  live  without  work.  Such  sentiments  are 


120  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

almost  beneath  contempt,  just  as  if  a  man's  labor 
was  done  when  he  can  read  and  write  well  and  speak 
fluently.  As  regards  my  sentiments  respecting  the 
animadversions  made  upon  you  by  some  ministers 
I  agree  with  them  in  some  points.  If  you  were  to 
address  the  common  people,  which  of  course  you 
will  if  you  become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  would 
you  think  high-wrought  pictures,  mysterious  figures 
having  the  semblance  of  fiction,  and  flaming  alle- 
gories would  have  the  tendency  to  arrest  the  atten- 
tion of  hearers  to  their  benefit  ?  Or  would  ft  be 
better  to  have  the  plain  matter  of  fact  way,  illus- 
trated by  comparisons  within  the  knowledge  of 
people,  warmly  pressed  on  them  by  the  action  and 
gesticulations  of  the  speaker  ?  That  some  people 
have  a  dull,  monotonous  way  of  addressing  their 
hearers  is  true,  and  the  effect  it  has  on  the  hearers 
is  about  the  same  that  the  rain  has  on  the  sands  of 
the  Arabian  deserts.  These  suggestions  are  made 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  draw  your  attention  to 
a  point  that  may  perhaps  be  of  some  utility,  not 
that  I  think  to  dictate  to  you  anything  as  a  superior* 
but  as  a  friend." 

The  foregoing  extract  is  given  at  some  length  for 
the  reason  that  it  intimates  to  what  extent  the 
young  student  in  the  West  had  been  already  mak- 
ing use  of  his  pen,  and  for  the  further  reason  that 
it  furnishes  a  fair  specimen  of  the  courtly,  high- 
flown  diction  that  prevailed  at  that  age.  Henry 


IN  THE  WEST.  12 1 

Harbaugh's  earliest  letters  and  essays  were  much  in 
the  same  vein,  though  there  was  an  element  of 
humor  that  brightened  the  quaint  phrases.  With  a 
very  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  words,  he 
seemed  to  adopt  them  sometimes  because  of  their 
great  length,  and  as  his  spelling  improved  his  ex- 
pressions became  more  formidable,  and  the  words 
used  often  exceeded  in  length  the  requirements  of 
the  thought.  In  the  first  letter  written  home  to  his 
brother,  he  announces,  in  the  most  comprehensive 
way,  that  he  proposed  to  stay  in  the  West,  u  to  im- 
prove myself  in  the  acquirements  that  I  find  are 
necessary  to  us  and  to  every  young  man  who  takes 
an  interest  in  his  future  happiness  and  enterprise 
and  who  does  not  wish  continually  to  bear  the  yoke 
of  oppression  and  contempt  that  is  laid  upon  them 
by  those  who  are  possessed  of  superiority."  But  he 
follows  this  with  the  announcement :  "I  will  now 
give  you  a  memorandum  of  the  females  of  the 
West,"  whereupon  he  launches  out  into  a  most  del- 
icate tribute  to  the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  young 
women  with  whom  he  had  become  acquainted  ;  and 
lest  his  brother  should  suspect  that  he  was  becom- 
ing too  deeply  absorbed  in  the  social  pleasures  of 
his  new  home,  he  adds,  "but  I  have  another  mag- 
got in  my  brain  now  besides  marrying  a  wife. ' ' 

In  recording  some  facts  relative  to  his  departure 
from  home,  he  used  the  words  :  UI  left  my  home 
for  Ohio  to  fulfil  my  designs,"  and  from  the  whole 


I22  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

trend  of  his  life  thereafter  it  may  be  gathered  that 
his  purpose  was  to  obtain  an  education.  His  under- 
taking to  learn  a  trade  was  a  financial  expedient  in 
part,  and  incidentally  a  means  of  convincing  his 
friends  that  his  plans  did  not  involve  the  forsaking 
of  manual  labor.  Comments  and  criticisms  upon 
his  work  and  purposes  were  always  received  by  him 
in  the  most  humble  and  kindly  spirit ;  he  never  let 
slip  an  opportunity  to  learn,  no  matter  in  what 
form  the  information  or  experience  presented  itself. 
He  was  a  sensitive  soul,  however,  easily  driven  to 
the  gloom  of  discouragement  through  the  applica- 
tion of  harsh  terms,  but  his  spirits  were  buoyant, 
easily  recoverable,  and  not  to  be  trodden  under  foot 
with  impunity.  He  was  possessed  of  a  calm  cour- 
age, and,  when  convinced  that  he  was  right,  could 
wield  as  keen  a  lance  as  any  that  ever  was  thurst 
against  him. 

In  and  about  Massilon,  Canal  Dover,  and  New 
Hagerstown  he  remained  until  the  fall  of  1840. 
He  taught  school  three  winters  and  attended  the 
sessions  of  New  Hagerstown  Academy  during  two 
summers.  During  all  this  time  he  wrote  a  great 
deal.  Everything  that  impressed  his  mind  at  all 
was  jotted  down,  and  much  of  it  having  served  his 
purpose  as  an  exercise,  was  destroyed.  His  long 
words  often  ran  wide  of  a  proper  meaning  and  his 
muse  sometimes  rode  a  rough  horse,  but  with  it  all 
he  wrote  letters,  prepared  speeches  upon  patriotic 


IN  THE  WEST. 


123 


subjects,  and  delivered  them  upon  numerous  occa- 
sions ;  read  original  essays,  and  once  at  least  entered 
into  the  field  of  romance  and  published  his  story  in 
one  of  the  Ohio  weekly  papers.  Upon  the  occa- 
sion of  this  production  his  candid  friend  again 
appears  with  his  criticism  : 

u  I  received  a  paper  some  weeks  ago,"  he  writes, 
"from  you,  containing  a  fictitious  piece  which  is 
pretty  well  written.  It  is  well  composed  and  con- 
ceived for  so  young  a  hand  as  yourself,  taking  your 
literary  attainments  and  your  chance  and  time  for 
your  education  into  consideration  ;  there  are  some 
few  expressions  though  at  the  time  of  reading  I 
thought  were  injudicious,  and  the  latter  part  winds 
up  rather  abrupt  to  continue  the  thread  of  the  story 
with  the  same  uniformity  that  the  part  down  to  the 
marriage  seemed  to  promise.  However,  I  do  not 
wish  to  discourage  you  from  sending  me  a  paper  at 
any  time  that  contains  a  composition  from  your 
pen,  whether  poetical  or  prosaical." 

The  Harbaughs  as  a  family  were  always  Demo- 
crats, and  Henry  joined  the  young  men  of  Ohio  in 
support  of  Van  Buren  in  1836.  He  was  not  to  be 
outdone  in  party  zeal  by  any  one,  and  he  declared 
that  if  he  chewed  tobacco  he  would  not  hesitate  a 
minute  to  bet  a  chew  on  Van  Buren.  But  while 
he  was  a  debater  and  partisan  shouter  with  the 
other  boys  of  his  acquaintance,  he  did  not  become 
a  presidential  voter  until  1840,  and  by  that  time  he 


124 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


had  come  to  enlist  in  the  cause  of  Harrison.  Poli- 
tics had  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates  and  written 
communications  of  that  day,  and  the  flings  at  each 
other  on  partisan  questions  were  perhaps  no  worse, 
certainly  they  were  no  better  than  at  the  present 
day. 

In  the  summer  of  1839,  Henry  had  so  far 
changed  his  political  faith  as  to  say  :  "I  am  afraid 
that  Van  will  be  re-elected.  I  expect  that  your  in- 
fluence is  in  his  favor,  but  I  assure  you  that  a  man 
who  says  that  '  the  farther  the  power  of  suffrage 
(or  voting)  is  removed  from  the  people  the  better' 
will  not  get  my  vote  ;  and  he  also  said  that  any 
person  who  was  not  worth  $250  should  not  have  a 
vote,  and  at  that  rate  I  myself  would  hardly  have 
a  vote,  and  I  think  that  I  as  a  freeman  am  as  much 
entitled  to  one  as  Mr.  Van  himself.  Before  I  would 
vote  for  a  man  who  has  said  all  this,  and  to  top  the 
climax  recommends  that  cursed  Sub-Treasury  bill, 
I  would  go  to  Texas.  I  don't  want  you  to  under- 
stand from  this,  however,  that  I  belong  to  the  Whig 
party.  I  am  opposed  to  parties.  I  am  a  Republi- 
can^ a  Democrat  and  a  friend  of  equal  rights,  but 
not  a  Van  Buren  man.  I  am  a  genuine  Conserva- 
tive !  !  !!" 

The  exclamation  marks  all  belong  to  the  original 
text  here  quoted.  Bate  in  the  winter  of  1837  he 
came  Bast  in  the  expectation  of  receiving  some 
substantial  encouragement  and  assistance  that  would 


IN  THE  WEST. 


125 


enable  him  to  attend  school.  It  is  difficult  for  one 
to  realize  that  a  young  man  of  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man family  as  late  as  the  year  1836  should  find  it 
necessary  to  strive  for  the  privileges  of  an  educa- 
tion, and  to  be  postponed  on  account  of  a  mistaken 
sentiment,  arising  partly  out  of  his  own  personality  ; 
but  the  fact  remains  that  he  returned  to  the  West 
with  the  declaration  :  •"  The  prospects  of  going  to 
school  have  again  been  blasted."  He  again  set  to 
work  as  a  carpenter  and  when  he  had  earned  about 
$200,  lost  it  all  by  the  failure  of  his  employer.  He 
remained  at  the  trade  undismayed,  however,  and 
increased  his  earnings  by  teaching  common  school 
and  singing  classes.  He  shut  himself  up  in  the 
evenings  in  a  bolting  chest  which  he  had  selected 
for  a  study,  secured  some  candles,  and  while  his  less 
serious  companions  were  spending  their  time  in 
idleness,  pored  over  his  books. 

In  one  of  the  earlier  numbers  of  the  Guardian, 
he  related  his  own  experience : 

' '  We  know  a  young  man  who  in  the  course  of  his 
business  as  a  journeyman  mechanic,  was  thrown  among 
a  company  of  young  fellow-workmen  who  had  '  no 
other  resort,'  as  they  thought,  but  to  spend  their  even- 
ings in  playing  cards  in  a  mill,  which  they  were  at  the 
time  furnishing  with  its  inside  machinery  and  fixtures. 
He,  having  been  trained  to  different  habits,  had  no 
difficulty  in  finding  another  place  of  resort.  He  pro- 
cured for  himself  candles,  fixed  up  for  himself  a  study 


126  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

in  a  finished  bolt  chest,  where  he  spent  his  evenings  in 
reading,  writing,  and  study.  As  we  know  him  well, 
we  have  been  frequently  assured  that  he  still  remem- 
bers some  things  which  he  learned  in  that  bolting 
chest ;  and  he  is  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  those  even- 
ings were  among  the  most  pleasant  and  profitable  of 
his  whole  life.  While  the  card  players  would  fall  out 
in  the  game,  and  swear  in  fearful  style  at  one  another, 
the  echoes  of  which  would  ring  through  the  mill,  he 
was  getting  along  on  the  very  best  of  terms  with  the 
poets,  historians,  and  sages  of  other  days.  These  con- 
versed with  him  kindly  and  wisely,  and  did  not  seem  at 
all  ashamed  or  impatient  of  his  humble  company. ' ' 

In  the  winter  of  1839  he  was  at  the  academy, 
New  Hagerstown,  which  he  described  as  a  small 
place  with  two  taverns,  two  churches,  three  stores, 
one  squire,  a  female  seminary,  and  an  academy  for 
young  men.  They  had  two  literary  societies  which 
met  every  Saturday  for  the  purpose  of  select  decla- 
mations, reading  of  original  essays,  and  debating. 
He  took  the  regular  academical  course  except  L,atin 
and  Greek,  which  he  did  not  take  up  until  he  went 
to  Marshall  College.  To  one  of  his  friends  he  thus 
describes  his  apartments  :  "  Fancy  to  yourself  you 
see  a  large  three-story  brick  house,  not  altogether 
finished.  Now  do  not  be  forever  gazing  at  the  out- 
side, but  step  in,  straight  forward,  up  stairs,  turn 
to  the  left  (need  not  knock),  well  here  is  Harbaugh's 
studying  room  !  Take  care,  don't  tramp  on  the 


IN  THE  WEST.  127 

nail  that  sticks  up  in  the  floor  near  the  door.  Do 
you  know  what  that's  for?  Well,  I'll  tell  you  : 
there  are  a  few  fellows  in  the  other  rooms  who  are 
fond  of  popping  in  to  molest  me,  so  you  see  we 
take  that  piece  of  board  and  put  one  end  against 
the  door  and  the  other  against  the  nail,  then  when 
they  knock,  *  there  is  nobody  at  home.'  " 

Adopting  a  more  sober  train  of  thought  in  the 
communication  just  quoted,  he  proceeds  to  an 
argument  on  infant  baptism  and,  in  the  conclusion 
of  it,  records  the  view  of  Christian  charity  which 
he  entertains  as  a  young  man  of  twenty-two  years  : 

"  If  you  were  baptized  in  the  stream  under  water 
in  faith  and  sincerity,  you  in  my  opinion  are  bap- 
tized right,  but  I  consider  that  sprinkling  is  just  as 
scriptural.  I  have  spoken  with  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject in  sincerity  and  I  hope  you  will  review  it  with 
a  Christian  spirit.  I  do  not  wish  to  fight  against 
truth  for  the  sake  of  prejudice,  for  I  could  wish  that 
there  were  many  who  are  no  more  sectarian  than  I 
am.  Though  I  belong  to  a  church,  yet  I  do  not 
feel  disposed  to  condemn  those  who  do  not  perform 
their  worship  as  our  church  does.  I  believe  if  there 
were  more  union  of  heart  among  professors  of  reli- 
gion it  would  be  better.  I  am  afraid  there  is  too 
much  said  respecting  the  form,  and  the  heart  loses 
its  devotion.  The  ancients,  like  some  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  thought  that  if  they  could  only  slay  a 
bullock  upon  the  altar,  that  the  work  was  done, 


I28  IvIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

but  God  declares  that  he  will  not  regard  their  sacri- 
fice." 

The  number  of  poems  written  by  Henry  Har- 
baugh  during  his  three  years'  sojourn  in  Ohio  will 
never  be  known.  At  least  fifty  of  them  are  extant, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  of  considerable  length.  A 
few  of  them  were  written  in  albums  and  probably 
half  of  them  were  published  from  time  to  time  in 
various  newspapers. 

One  of  his  first  finished  essays  on  "  Music"  was 
delivered  at  the  New  Hagerstown  Academy  at  the 
exhibition  held  by  the  students  of  that  institution, 
September  27,  1839.  It  is  in  two  parts,  exceeding 
in  length  any  of  his  productions  of  that  period, 
and  bears  evidence  of  much  thought,  as  well  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  special  love  for  that  theme. 
In  one  brief  sentence  he  couples  his  ancestral  Swit- 
zerland with  his  beloved  native  land  in  a  beautiful 
and  affectionate  manner.  Speaking  of  music 
personified,  he  exclaims:  "Superstition  had 
chained  the  heaven-born  stranger  until  the  Re- 
formers tuned  his  harp  to  more  heaven-wrought 
strains  in  the  churches  of  Europe,  and  taught  him 
the  songs  which  angels  sang  upon  the  plains  of 
Bethlehem.  But  Burope  could  not  retain  the 
peaceful  pilgrim,  nor  were  the  glens  of  Switzerland 
ample  to  captivate  the  imperial  echoes,  but  on  the 
trans-Atlantic  strands  of  America  he  was  destined 
to  chant  the  song  of  freedom."  Not  among  the 


IN  THE  WEST.  I29 

least  of  his  essays  was  "The  Mind  of  Man  as 
Evinced  by  its  Operations, "  which  was  read  at  the 
literary  contest  in  the  New  Hagerstown  Academy, 
March  27,  1840.  The  Franklin  Literary  Society 
was  represented  by  Mr.  James  McGinnis  of  East- 
port,  Ohio,  and  the  Madison  Literary  Society  by 
Henry  Harbaugh,  who  carried  off  the  honors  of  the 
occasion.  This  essay  abounded  in  metaphor  and 
poetic  expression,  setting  forth  inter  alia  that,  u  the 
mind  of  man  is  like  a  small  rill  that  rises  in  some 
sequestered  glen,  and  becomes  mighty  in  propor- 
tion as  it  approaches  the  ocean,  which  at  first  plays 
carelessly  among  the  laureled  wilds  in  all  the  beauty 
of  romantic  solitude.  When  we  contemplate  the 
unbounded  range  of  arts,  sciences,  and  improve- 
ments around  us,  we  are  instantly  led  to  look  up 
with  wonder  to  those  Herculean  minds  whose  ex- 
panded intellects  have  far  outstripped  even  the 
most  extravagant  fancies  of  earlier  years !" 

So  it  remained  for  this  industrious  young  essay- 
ist to  look  back  with  astonishment  upon  the  ex- 
travagant fancies  of  his  earlier  years,  some  of  which 
were  embodied  in  the  very  prophesies  he  had  made. 

He  also  delivered  a  number  of  patriotic  addresses, 
notably  the  one  to  his  fellow-citizens  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1840,  upon  "  The  Causes  which  led  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence." 

In  the  early  summer  of  1839,  his  father  made  a 
brief  visit  to  the  West,  and  upon  this  occasion 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Henry  had  great  expectations  of  settling  finally  the 
difficulties  that  yet  stood  in  the  way  of  his  further 
education.  But  the  occasion  passed  without  any 
event  that  changed  his  prospects,  and  he  struggled 
on  until  October,  1840,  when,  poor  in  scrip  as  ever, 
but  with  moral  and  intellectual  capital  unimpaired, 
he  applied  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  class  at 
Marshall  College,  Mercersburg,  Pa. 

Dr.  Bailsman  describes  Henry  Harbaugh's  meet- 
ing with  Dr.  Nevin  at  Mercersburg  : 

"  Then  already  he  (Dr.  Nevin)  was  widely  known  as 
a  theologian  and  a  ripe  scholar.  Sitting  at  his  study 
table  one  day,  engaged  in  severe  mind  work,  a  bashful 
young  man  approached  his  door  with  no  little  misgiv- 
ing ;  with  just  such  thoughts  as  would  naturally  op- 
press any  young  man  of  ordinary  modesty  in  approach- 
ing a  college  president  for  the  first  time.  He  raps  at 
the  door  and  is  told  to  '  come  in'  in  a  tone  of  voice 
which  by  no  means  removes  his  embarrassment.  His 
story  is  soon  told.  The  keen  eye  of  the  president  scans 
him  with  painful  care.  There  was  nothing  in  the  young 
man  to  promise  an  extraordinary  future.  A  polished 
exterior,  and  an  ease  of  manner,  which  feels  perfectly 
at  home  in  such  a  presence  one  cannot  expect  in  one  of 
his  age.  A  sound  body  he  seemed  to  have  and  a  head 
which  gave  room  for  brain  enough,  provided  it  was  of 
the  right  sort.  His  whole  appearance  was  that  of  a 
young  man  fresh  from  his  work  shop,  a  rough  stone 
hewn  out  of  the  mountain,  which  needed  much  careful 
chiseling  to  bring  out  the  full-formed,  finished,  sym- 


IN  THE  WEST.  I3I 

metrical  statue.  His  room  was  assigned  him.  After 
passing  through  the  usual  examination  he  entered  the 
Freshman  class.  At  length  his  long  cherished  hopes  to 
become  a  college  student  are  realized." 

Thus  ran  the  course  of  fortune  with  him  until  his 
twenty-third  year.  Much  of  it  all — the  downfall- 
ings  and  uprisings,  the  smiles  and  tears,  and  aught 
else  that  goes  to  make  up  the  lights  and  shadows  of 
an  eventful  life — may  be  rounded  out  from  the  diary 
of  one's  own  experiences,  for  the  old  world  wags 
much  the  same  for  all,  and  life's  story  is  an  old  one. 


IV.     MARSHALL  COLLEGE  AND   THE 
SEMINARY,  MERCERSBURG. 


were  about  130  students  at  Mercersburg 
at  the  opening  session  of  Marshall  College 
and  the  Seminary  in  the  fall  of  1840.  Henry  Har- 
baugh  was  not  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  promis- 
ing among  them.  Dr.  D.  Y.  Heisler  remembered 
him  well  as  he  then  appeared  :  "  a  somewhat  slender 
and  tall  young  man,  with  the  evidences  of  hard 
work  and  earnest  efforts  deeply  impressed  upon  his 
features.  His  athletic  frame,  sun-burned  counte- 
nance, and  bony  hands,  gave  him  an  appearance 
wholly  different  from  that  of  the  future  Dr.  Har- 
baugh,  with  the  image  of  whose  pleasant  and  genial 
countenance  we  are  all  so  familiar.  He  was  there, 
however,  in  the  power  and  spirit  of  his  future  self. 
In  his  regular  studies  and  in  all  his  exercises,  liter- 
ary and  theological,  he  exhibited  the  same  earnest- 
ness, ardor  and  persistent  application,  which  so 
eminently  distinguished  him  in  after  life.  In  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  in  the  seminary  and  college, 
as  well  as  in  his  occasional  addresses  to  Sunday- 
schools,  which  with  other  students  he  used  to  attend 
in  the  country,  he  was  always  enthusiastic,  fresh, 
and  instructive  ;  but  his  style  of  speaking  was  then 
comparatively  crude  and  his  gestures  exceedingly 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE. 


133 


awkward,  owing  greatly,  no  doubt,  to  his  self-for- 
getting earnestness  in  the  presentation  of  the  truth." 

The  young  student  arrived  at  Mercersburg  No- 
vember n,  1840.  He  had  left  Ohio  in  mid-October, 
having  secured  passage  with  his  brother,  who  was 
then  coming  Bast,  in  a  two-horse  carriage.  The 
trip  was  accomplished  in  seven  days  and  was  far 
more  comfortable  and  pleasant  in  every  way  than 
was  afforded  by  his  former  mode  of  travel. 

He  had  formed  some  warm  personal  attachments 
among  the  people  of  Ohio  with  whom  he  had  been 
associated  during  the  three  years  sojourn,  and  now 
he  was  leaving  with  genuine  regret,  but  with 
brighter  hopes  for  the  future  than  he  had  ever  be- 
fore cherished.  He  was  to  return,  however,  and 
Ohio  would  be  his  future  home,  he  told  his  friends, 
but  now  his  footsteps  were  turned  towards  Mercers- 
burg,  where  the  coming  years  had  so  much  in  store 
for  him,  upon  which  he  reckoned  not. 

The  following  quotation  from  one  of  his  letters 
well  illustrates  how  thoughtful  and  observant  he 
was  as  a  young  man  and  how  keenly  he  enjoyed 
being  "nearer  to  nature's  heart."  (May  22,  1842.) 

"We  arrived  at  Wheeling  the  same  day  we  left 
you,"  he  writes  to  one  of  his  Ohio  friends.  (l  We 
did  not,  however,  cross  the  river  the  same  evening, 
as  the  ferry-boat  had  laid  up  for  the  night.  We 
had  good  luck.  We  stopped  only  about  an  hour  in 
Wheeling,  and  from  there  we  reached  my  father's 


I34  L,LPE,  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

in  five  days.  Being  Saturday  evening,  we  had  to 
drive  late,  as  it  was  after  ten  o'clock  when  we 
arrived  home.  Our  journey  was  generally  pleasant, 
though  we  had  some  rain  on  Thursday  and  Friday. 
Nothing  is  more  unpleasant  than  to  be  away  on  a 
journey  on  a  rainy  day.  All  the  other  time  was  fair 
and  beautiful.  May  is  the  loveliest  season  for  trav- 
eling ;  nature  in  all  its  richness  smiled  around  us. 
Not  only  is  every  field  and  every  plain  carpeted 
with  green,  but  nature  hangs  its  beautiful  drapery 
on  every  hill  and  tree.  Flowers  and  perfume  meet 
the  sense  and  fill  the  heart  with  feeling,  and  we  are 
made  to  exclaim  in  the  language  of  Thompson : 

"  '  These  as  they  change,  Almighty  Father  !  these 
Are  but  the  varied  God.     The  rolling  year 
Is  full  of  Thee.     Forth  in  the  Spring 
Thy  beauty  walks.     Thy  tenderness  and  love 
Wide  flush  the  fields.' 

"There  is  every  variety  of  scenery  on  the  road 
from  Ohio  here.  Along  the  Ohio  river  is  a  lovely 
spot.  The  near  banks  that  enamel  the  stream  are 
shaded  by  the  blossoming  Buckeye,  and  the  gentle 
•current  murmurs  by  as  calm  and  even  as  the  good 
man's  life.  Then  as  you  pass  along  farther  east 
you  see  by  the  wayside  many  a  little  cottage  and 
many  a  lonely  cabin — wealth  and  poverty  side  by 
side — the  lordling  and  the  slave,  the  oppressor  and 
the  oppressed  are  all  together  and  you  are  led  in- 
voluntarily to  ask  yourself,  why  this  difference? 
and  he  is  a  philosopher  who  solves  it  aright. 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE. 


135 


"  Through  the  country  you  see  many  neat  resi- 
dences, some  beautiful  yards,  lovely  shade  bowers, 
summer  houses  and  green  trees — all  of  which  are 
a  good  index  to  the  character  of  the  inhabitants. 
For  where  you  see  such  beauty  and  taste  without, 
you  may  look  with  confidence  for  neatness,  kind- 
ness, and  happiness  within. 

"  Such  persons  commune  much  with  nature's 
God.  Thus  the  heart  is  made  better,  and  it  is  filled 
with  the  warmest  feelings,  which  continually  flow 
out  in  rich  floods  towards  God  and  man. 

"  Towards  evening  of  the  second  day  after  you 
leave  Wheeling  you  get  to  the  commencement  of 
the  mountains.  For  about  twenty  miles  before  you 
get  to  them,  they  appear  to  the  view  far  in  the  dis- 
tance, raising  their  deep  blue  peaks  towards  heaven 
in  tranquil  beauty.  Then  as  you  get  nearer  to 
them  they  become  more  distinct,  less  beautiful,  but 
more  grand  and  sublime.  The  first  is  the  Laurel 
Hill.  It  is  thick  with  laurels  full  of  flowers,  as 
they  are  in  bloom  at  present.  There  are  also  many 
locusts  ;  they  are  at  this  time  also  full  of  flowers, 
and  as  you  pass  along  you  are  greeted  by  their  loads 
of  perfume,  which  comes  to  you  on  every  gale. 
From  the  top  of  this  first  mountain  is  a  most  lovely 
prospect.  Far  as  the  eye  can  reach  lies  to  view 
the  level  country  westward,  interspersed  with  fields 
and  woods,  white  houses  and  villages.  When  we 
were  there  it  was  nearly  sunset,  and  as  he  descended 


1 36  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

in  the  west  in  his  ( golden  car,'  a  lovely  serenity 
spread  itself  over  the  face  of  the  country.  At  last 
the  shades  of  twilight  began  to  settle  far  off  on  the 
mountains,  and  animated  nature  with  her  thousand 
insect  voices  commenced  its  deep  and  solemn  vesper. 
From  Laurel  Hill  eastward  there  is  nothing  but 
mountains  for  about  130  miles,  at  the  end  of  which 
is  the  lovely  (Cumberland)  valley,  one  hundred 
miles  long  and  thirty  to  forty  broad,  in  which  Mer- 
cersburg  is  situated.  On  the  top  of  the  highest 
mountain  the  leaves  were  scarcely  started,  and  the 
woodland  was  bare.  I  have  said  that  I  love  moun- 
tain scenery,  yet  I  love  not  only  the  mighty  and 
sublime  in  nature,  but  the  lovely  and  beautiful — 
the  gentle,  the  modest,  the  chaste.  I  have  loved 
the  mountain  with  all  its  wildness  from  my  child- 
hood. It  has  been  my  intimate  companion,  and 
all  the  world,  with  its  pride  and  follies,  seems  as 
nothing  when  my  soul  rises  amid  scenes  like  these. " 
Mercersburg  in  sixty  years  has  added  much  to 
her  fair  fame,  but  the  many  affectionate  and  glow- 
ing tributes  to  her  greatness,  sent  forth  from  literary 
hall  and  banquet  board,  have  not  served  to  lead  her 
as  a  body  corporate  into  any  dangerous  schemes  of 
expansion.  In  the  matter  of  internal  improvements 
the  town  has  kept  modest  pace  with  like  villages  of 
Southern  Pennsylvania,  but  seldom  indeed  has  it 
been  found  necessary  or  desirable  to  extend  its  bor- 
ough limits.  The  burgess  and  town  council  have 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  I37 

been  all-sufficient  in  civil  administration,  and  a 
high  constable,  acting  on  occasion  as  special  police- 
man, has  been  the  sole  executive  officer.  In  1840 
Mercersburg  was  a  thriving  village,  commercially 
speaking,  and  was  alive  with  freight  and  passengers 
moving  east  and  west.  The  macadamized  road, 
now  a  turnpike,  had  already  been  built  and  there 
was  a  coach  line  from  Frederick  City,  then  the  ter- 
minus of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  by  way 
of  Hagerstown,  Mercersburg,  and  Bedford  to  Wheel- 
ing, West  Va.  This  was  a  successful  rival  of  the 
stage  lines  running  on  the  National  road.  Mercers- 
burg was  a  picturesque  place  at  this  time,  and  while 
many  of  the  old  landmarks  have  long  since  disap- 
peared, the  old  taverns  with  their  quaint  signs,  large 
open  stable  yards  crowded  with  white  covered  wag- 
ons and  quietly  feeding  horses,  are  still  within  the 
memory  of  most  of  the  older  inhabitants. 

From  a  purely  Scotch-Irish  community  in  1835, 
Mercersburg  has  merged  into  an  Anglo-German 
people  which  is  substantially  her  citizenship  to-day. 
The  old  town  has  entertained  many  noted  person- 
ages ;  it  has  produced  and  sent  out  into  the  world 
men  arid  women  of  refinement  and  education,  who 
have  made  their  impress  on  state  and  nation.  The 
town  has  grown  old  and  gray  and  quiet,  but  it 
shelters  many  peaceful  firesides,  and  a  company  of 
gentle-folk  with  whom  it  is  a  rich  pleasure  to  meet. 
One  may  stand  now,  as  Henry  Harbaugh  did  upon 


I38  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

the  front  steps  of  the  seminary  in  the  autumn  of 
1840,  and  contemplate  much  the  same  scene.  True 
it  is  that  the  many  green  groves  which  encroached 
so  beautifully  upon  the  borders  of  the  village  have 
disappeared  before  the  axe  of  the  relentless  lumber- 
men ;  the  wide  pasture  fields  lying  between  your 
point  of  view  and  the  town  limits  have  given  way 
to  the  builders,  while  the  slender  saplings  round 
about  the  seminary  building  have  sprung  up  to 
over-top  the  building  itself. 

To  one  looking  westward  from  this  eminence  the 
little  old  town  falls  into  view  with  its  weather- 
beaten  shingles  and  big  brick  chimneys.  Down  in 
the  foreground  of  the  picture  stands  the  church — 
a  large  brick  structure  with  a  quaint  little  steeple 
perched  on  top  looking  like  a  tarnished  silver  thim- 
ble. In  front  and  within  the  high  iron  fence,  to 
the  left  as  you  enter,  stands  a  square  block  of  mar- 
ble which  once  marked  the  grave  of  Dr.  Frederick 
A.  Rauch.  To  the  right  is  the  grave  of  Henry 
Harbaugh  and  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory 
by  the  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church.  The  in- 
terior of  this  church  will  be  well  remembered  by 
many  a  college  student — its  dusky  walls,  its  pon- 
derous galleries,  and  the  lacquered  brass  chandelier 
suspended  by  a  long  rope  from  the  hub  of  an  im- 
mense wheel  frescoed  upon  the  ceiling.  Many  a 
sultry  Sunday  morning  during  the  progress  of  the 
sermon  has  one  of  the  younger  representatives  of 


MONUMENT  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  DR.    HARBAUGH.   IN  TRINITY  CHURCH  YARD, 
ERECTED  BY  THE  SYNOD  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH. 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE. 


139 


the  congregation  rested  back  in  the  corner  of  a  pew 
and  in  fancy  fashioned  countless  pieces  of  machin- 
ery with  this  gigantic  wheel  as  a  nucleus.  Per- 
chance it  would  be  a  locomotive  engine  with  train 
of  cars  attached  extending  far  out  into  the  base-ball 
field,  with  the  whole  equipment  ten  times  too  big 
ever  to  get  through  the  tunnel  pictured  like  the 
wheel  in  massive  strokes  on  the  wall  behind  the 
high  white  pulpit.*  And  they  who  stood  in  that 
high  white  pulpit — McCauley  the  gentle,  eloquent 
minister,  Brown  the  faithful  pastor  who  traveled  by 
road  and  mountain  in  answer  to  every  call  of  his 
people,  those  giants  of  intellect,  Schaff,  Nevin, 
Higbee,  Thomas  G.  Apple,  and  so  many  others — 
all  have  joined  the  choir  invisible  of  the  sainted 
dead  !  These  the  church  will  never  cease  to  honor 
and  hold  in  affectionate  remembrance. 

But  farther  to  the  west  there  fall  into  view  the 
everlasting  hills  and  the  blue  mountain  background. 
These  have  better  withstood  the  test  of  time. 
Scarcely  three  miles  away  is  a  spur  of  the  North 
mountain,  curving  around  like  a  sheltering  arm 
from  Mount  Parnell  on  the  north  to  Two-Top  on 
the  south,  with  a  foreground  of  rolling  farm  land 
cut  in  two  by  the  glistening  turnpike  which  loses 
itself  in  the  windings  of  the  Cove  Gap. 

The  description  of   the    town    most  familiar  to 

*  The  interior  of  this  church  has  been  beautifully  remodeled  in  recent 
years.    The  gallery,  high  pulpit,  and  old  frescoing  are  gone. 


I40  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

those  who  have  dwelt  beneath  its  classic  shades  is 
contained  in  the  college  catalogue  of  other  days : 
It  is  ua  village  of  about  twelve  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, situated  on  the  south-western  part  of  Frank- 
lin County,  Pa.,  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  lime-stone 
region,  at  a  distance  of  an  hour's  walk  from  the 
base  of  what  is  called  the  North  mountain.  The 
scenery  formed  by  the  mountains,  which  bend 
around  it  like  a  vast  crescent  or  amphitheatre,  con- 
trasting as  it  does  with  the  rich  open  country  below, 
is  absolutely  splendid. " 

Frequent  allusion  is  made  elsewhere  in  these 
pages  to  the  social  and  educational  features  of  Mer- 
cersburg,  and  the  inclination  to  introduce  further 
description  that  might  be  borrowed  from  various 
sources  is  therefore  suppressed. 

Marshall  College,  which  early  in  its  career  was 
termed  "  the  little  Dutch  College  out  somewhere 
along  the  mountains,"  had  a  long  and  hard  struggle 
for  existence.  A  peculiar  responsibility  rested  upon 
teacher  and  pupil  alike.  Both  the  college  and  the 
seminary  were  one  great  big  home  where  social  in- 
tercourse was  unrestricted  and  where  the  conveni- 
ences of  life  such  as  the  institution  could  then  offer 
were  enjoyed  largely  in  common.  The  well  was 
always  free  to  him  who  would  carry  his  pitcher  to 
it ;  the  country  around  afforded  pleasant  walks  and 
recreation,  while  the  nuts  were  plentiful  in  the  near 
by  woods  for  all  who  would  gather  them.  The  huge 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE. 


141 


wood  pile  with  its  attendant  implements  never 
turned  anyone  away  who  honestly  sought  healthful 
exercise. 

When  Henry  Harbaugh  entered  his  name  upon 
the  roll  of  this  institution  he  did  it  not  as  an  expe- 
dient, not  merely  as  a  means  to  some  good  end  ; 
not  alone  as  a  preparation  for  the  calling  in  life  that 
seemed  to  him  so  many  weary  years  ahead.  But 
rather  his  enlistment  was  for  life.  He  regarded  him- 
self as  surely  adopted  and  the  spirit  of  the  institu- 
tion in  some  mysterious  manner  became  his  spirit  ; 
the  impulse  which  his  mind  received  in  these  plas- 
tic years  of  his  life,  in  a  great  degree  determined 
the  current  of  his  after  history.  He  accepted  the 
guardian  care  and  benefits,  and  assumed  the  respon- 
sibilities of  a  child  of  the  institution. 

The  early  students  of  Marshall  College,  with  but 
few  exceptions,  realized  these  things — that  from  the 
broken  and  withered  bough  no  fruit  could  fall 
within  the  shadow  of  the  parent  tree  ;  that  any  liv- 
ing branch  cut  off  and  separated  from  the  body  of 
the  tree  could  bring  forth  no  fruit  of  its  kind.  And 
it  were  well  for  men  of  a  later  generation  could 
they  awaken  to  the  truth  that  he  who  wilfully  and 
permanently  severs  himself  from  the  life  of  his  alma 
mater,  thereby  proves  himself  false  to  the  memory 
of  those  noble  men  who  gave  their  best  years,  yea, 
their  very  lives,  against  odds  that  this  college  might 
live  and  her  light  continue  to  shine  among  men. 


I42  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  present  writer  deems  himself  fortunate  ia 
having  the  following  masterly  summary  of  the  status 
of  our  church  and  institutions  of  learning  in  the 
year  1840.  Dr.  Theodore  Appel,  in  his  Life  and 
Work  of  John  Williamson  Nevin,  D.D .,  LL.D., 
says  : 

' '  The  Reformed  Synod  met  in  the  later  part  of  Octo- 
ber, 1840,  at  Greencastle,  Pa.,  not  far  from  Mercers- 
burg,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Charnbersburg, 
where  the  editors  of  the  church  papers  and  most  of  the 
church  treasurers  resided.  All  parts  of  the  denomina- 
tion were  well  represented,  the  advisory  members,  of 
whom  Dr.  Nevin  was  one,  being  about  as  numerous  as 
those  that  were  regular  delegates.  Rev.  Bernard  C. 
Wolff  was  ^chosen  to  preside.  A  general  feeling  of 
hopefulness  and  confidence  seemed  to  predominate, 
which  presented  a  strong  contrast  to  what  prevailed  ia 
some  of  the  preceding  synods,  especially  in  one  that 
was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1839.  The  dark  clouds 
which  had  hung  over  the  church,  and  over  the  seminary 
in  particular,  had  in  a  measure  passed  away,  and  better 
times  seemed  to  be  looming  up  under  the  blue  sky  of 
hope.  The  action  of  the  synod  at  Charnbersburg  in 
the  election  of  a  new  theological  professor  (Nevin)  was 
heartily  approved. 

"The  matter  of  holding  a  Centennial  Celebration 
during  the  following  year  occupied  much  of  the  time  of 
the  synod  and  every  member  seemed  anxious  to  give  it 
as  wide  and  useful  a  range  as  possible.  In  reliance 
upon  Almighty  God,  the  year  1841,  therefore,  was  set 


MARSH  ALL  COLLEGE.  143 

apart  as  a  solemn  festival  of  thanksgiving,  prayer,  and 
praise ;  sermons  and  historical  discourses  were  to  be 
delivered,  the  churches  were  to  bring  their  thank-offer- 
ings to  the  Lord,  and  to  unite  in  raising  $100,000  at 
least  for  its  struggling  schools  of  learning,  missions, 
beneficiary  education,  or  other  objects ;  subscription 
books  were  to  be  opened  in  all  the  pastoral  charges, 
containing  separate  columns  for  each  specific  object ; 
the  brethren  in  the  West  were  invited  to  unite  in  the 
celebration At  Mercersburg  a  very  en- 
thusiastic meeting  had  been  held  under  the  direction  of 
classis,  at  which  quite  a  number  of  generous  contribu- 
tions were  made.  Dr.  Rauch  pledged  himself  for  $500 
and  Dr.  Budd  for  the  same  amount.  Others  in  the 
congregation  and  on  the  outside  subscribed  liberally. 
The  ladies  in  the  Presbyterian  congregation  had  nearly 
raised  the  money  for  a  $500  scholarship  in  Marshall 
College ;  on  the  Reformed  side  the  ladies  were  trying 
to  do  the  same  thing,  and  twenty  students  in  the  insti- 
tutions had  engaged  to  raise  $25  each  in  five  years  to 
complete  a  scholarship  of  their  own.  Dr.  Nevin  gave 
$1000  for  himself  and  family,  which  was  probably  the 
largest  amount  contributed  during  the  centenary  year." 

This  was  the  enthusiastic  condition  of  affairs  at 
the  time  Henry  Harbaugh  entered  college.  At 
that  time  the  alumni  could  number  barely  twenty 
members,  but  where  numbers  lacked  there  was 
plenty  of  energy  and  hope  for  the  institution. 

But  just  at  this  time  Dr.  Rauch  fell  sick  and  it 
was  realized  among  his  closest  friends  that  he  had 


1 44  LIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

not  long  to  live.  He  was  young  in  years  but  frail 
of  body,  and  had  no  doubt  overtaxed  his  mental 
and  physical  energies  in  the  work  of  Marshall  Col- 
lege and  the  Seminary,  on  which  his  heart  was  set. 
He  died  March  2,  1841,  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
grave  yard  of  the  college  at  the  southern  end  of 
Mercersburg,  where  his  body  rested  until  its  re- 
moval to  Lancaster  in  March,  1859. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  observed  that  Henry 
Harbaugh's  entry  at  Marshall  College  was  only  a 
few  months  prior  to  the  death  of  its  first  president, 
and  he  had,  therefore,  very  brief  personal  contact 
with  Dr.  Rauch  as  a  teacher.  But  Dr.  Nevin  had 
been  sent  to  the  relief  of  the  college  and  seminary 
in  the  declining  days  of  Dr.  Rauch,  and  was  then 
already  asking  the  people  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church  through  the  press,  the  pulpit,  and  the  class 
room,  whether  they  were  willing  to  see  the  church 
merged  into  other  religious  systems,  or  whether 
they  would  unite  to  sustain  it  as  it  was  and  allow  it 
to  grow  in  its  own  historical  life.  Dr.  Rauch  was 
laid  in  his  grave  in  March,  1841,  but  Mercersburg 
theology  had  already  awakened  and  was  wielding 
its  influence  in  the  formative  period  of  what  has 
since  come  to  be  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States.  During  these  and  after  years  many  of  the 
fathers  of  the  church  had  their  good  part  in  weld- 
ing and  forging  the  system  of  theology  which  con- 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  145 

trols  the  cultus  and  economy  of  our  rapidly  grow- 
ing branch  of  the  visible  church. 

Henry  Harbaugh  was  now  coming  near  to  what 
he  had  long  wished  for.  He  had  a  modest  sum 
stored  up  for  expenses  of  the  first  year  at  least ; 
and  what  was  far  more  important  than  that,  his 
honored  father  was  beginning  to  apprehend  the  true 
bent  of  his  son's  mind,  and  there  was  no  longer 
the  feeling  in  the  heart  of  the  young  student  that 
he  was  doing  and  living  against  the  will  of  a  con- 
scientious but  mistaken  parent.  He  was  well 
pleased  with  the  college.  He  had  found  a  pleasant 
boarding  place  at  a  very  modest  price  and  had  be- 
gun to  study.  To  a  correspondent  in  Ohio  he  thus 
unburdens  himself : 

1 '  I  like  the  college  well.  Of  course  thus  far  I  have 
not  much  enjoyed  myself,  being  altogether  strange.  I 
pay  $1.87  per  week  boarding,  and  the  tuition  is  from 
ten  to  eighteen  dollars  per  session.  There  are  about 
125  to  130  students.  I  am  studying  at  present  Latin 
and  Greek  only.  Greek  is  hard — more  so  than  plan* 
ing  logs  or  boating  on  the  ice.  The  college  course  is 
four  years.  Probably  I  will  not  take  a  full  course. 
Your  letter  found  me  in  good  health,  but  I  cannot  say 
in  good  spirits,  for  I  was  exceedingly  depressed  in  mind 
about  the  time  it  made  its  appearance. ' ' 

Early  in  January,  1841,  in  an  affectionate  letter 
to  his  father,  he  relates  in  detail  the  circumstances 


I46  WFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

of  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  building  in  which 
the  preparatory  school  was  held. 

UI  am  getting  along  tolerably  well  with  my 
studies,"  he  writes.  "I  intend  to  commence  to 
study  the  German  language  on  Monday,  as  I  con- 
sider it  wrong  for  me  to  keep  studying  other  things 
of  less  importance  before  I  know  the  language  in 
which  I  was  raised  better.  I  will  study  the  German 
with  Professor  Good.  He  is  a  good  German  scholar 
and  fond  of  teaching  it.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can 
come  home  again  before  spring.  I  would  like  to  see 
any  of  the  folks  at  any  time.  Probably  if  snow  comes, 
some  of  you  will  pay  me  a  visit,  and  if  so  I  hope 
you  will  not  forget  to  put  some  of  the  good  apples 
in  the  box. "  He  received  the  candles  that  had  been 
made  for  him  at  home,  and  he  hoped  some  one 
would  take  a  sleigh  ride  and  bring  the  German  dic- 
tionary along  up. 

With  the  same  diligence  that  had  characterized 
his  student  life  at  the  New  Hagerstown  Academy, 
Ohio,  he  availed  himself  of  all  the  means  of  im- 
provement that  were  to  be  found  at  Marshall  Col- 
lege. He  became  a  member  of  the  literary  society, 
which  was  conducted  in  the  German  language,  and 
also  one  of  the  rival  English  societies.  In  Die 
Deiitsche  Literarische  Gesellschaft  he  found  oppor- 
tunity to  supplement  his  study  of  the  German  lan- 
guage, to  exercise  in  the  sound  German  words,  and 
to  become  more  fluent  in  the  use  of  them.  Criti- 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  147 

eism  on  the  part  of  the  various  members  was  un- 
sparing, and  Henry  Harbaugh  was  severely  brought 
to  frequently  on  account  of  his  tendency  to  drift 
into  the  use  of  the  Pennsylvania-German  dialect — 
the  language  of  his  home. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Diagnothian  Liter- 
ary Society,  in  which  English  was  used,  and  around 
which  much  of  the  charm  of  college  life  lay  for 
him.  Of  his  entrance  into  it  Dr.  Theodore  Appel 
speaks  as  follows  : 

1 '  We  were  on  intimate  terms  during  his  course  of 
studies  at  Mercersburg,  and  had  many  interesting  con- 
versations together.  He  joined  the  same  literary 
societjr  to  which  we  then  belonged  in  1841,  and  took  his 
seat  as  a  full-grown  man,  already  twenty-four  years  old, 
when  all  the  rest  of  us  were  his  juniors.  He  sat  and 
listened  for  a  while,  but  looked  as  if  his  thoughts  were 
somewhere  else,  rather  absent  minded  ;  and  it  was  not 
thought  that  there  was  anything  special  in  him,  or  that 
anything  special  would  come  out  of  him.  On  one  occa- 
sion, however,  when  he  was  called  on  to  read  a  compo- 
sition, he  got  up  and  recited  a  very  beautiful  little 
poem,  full  of  tenderness  and  pathos,  something  very 
remarkable  in  the  circumstances,  and  very  surprising 
to  his  fellow  members.  The  wonder  was  where  this 
rural  addition  to  the  society  had  found  such  thoughts 
and  such  words.  At  once  he  rose  up  as  one  of  our 
brightest  stars,  and  we  were  all  of  us  very  proud  of 
him.  The  poem  has  been  published  in  several  periodi- 


I48  WFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

cals,  and  has  always  been  admired,  notwithstanding  its 
want  of  polish  in  several  respects." 


Dr.  Appel  further,  speaking  of  the  tendencies  of 
some  young  students  of  that  day,  declares  again 
the  doubt  that  existed  as  to  Henry  Harbaugh's  fu- 
ture, "  but  as  for  Henry  Harbaugh  —  afterwards 
author  and  professor  of  theology,  no  less  than  a 
powerful  preacher  of  righteousness  —  it  was  a  doubt- 
ful case  whether  he  would  come  to  anything  at  all 
in  the  ministry.  He  was  free  spoken  and  had  very 
little  of  cant  about  him.  Both  he  and  his  ances- 
tors were  genuine  Swiss,  and  could  not  be  anything 
else  but  Reformed.  Henry,  however,  was  not  be- 
hind anybody  on  the  subject  of  temperance  or 
slavery,  just  as  afterwards  he  never  lagged  in  the 
rear  on  the  question  of  the  Union." 

While  Henry  was  thus  observed  by  his  fellow 
students,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  he 
was  not  also  one  of  the  observers.  His  estimates 
are  in  several  instances  recorded.  One  fellow,  he 
remarks,  u  is  a  bright  genius.  He  can  learn  con- 
siderably more  in  two  days  than  in  one.  He  appears 
to  feel  the  full  force  of  being  at  college.  It  will  take 
him  about  a  session  to  find  out  that  he  knows 
nothing."  .  .  .  "  Suppose  you  come  up  some  one 
of  these  Saturdays,"  he  writes  to  his  brother 
George,  "  and  I  will  make  you  a  present  of  a  copy 
of  Dr.  Ranch's  Psychology  —  the  book  the  man 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  149 

wrote  who  died  last  spring,  and  that  will  pay  you 
for  your  ride.  I  would  like  to  have  a  talk  with 
you.  You  have  a  horse  to  ride,  but  when  I  come 
home  I  have  to  walk." 

It  was  thus  that  the  homesickness  betrayed  itself 
in  nearly  every  letter  the  young  student  wrote.  He 
longed  to  get  back  to  the  old  stone  house — to  the 
little  sleeping  room — out  into  the  orchard  where  he 
could  awaken  the  echo,  and  hear  the  "  I/ittle  Man 
in  the  barn"  call  back  to  him.  But  there  was  much 
to  occupy  his  mind  now,  and  he  found  so  much  en- 
couragement in  the  progress  of  his  first  year's  work 
at  Marshall  College  that  he  was  able  to  say  to  one 
of  his  friends : 

'  *  You  tell  me  in  your  letter  that  you  find  a  great  deal 
of  enjoyment  in  reading.  If  you  find  a  pleasure  in  it 
now,  you  will  in  after  life — find,  not  only  the  pleasure 
continued,  but  it  will  be  the  cause  of  drawing  smiles 
upon  your  pathway.  It  will  serve  to  light  up  each 
joyless  hour  with  a  serenity  of  mind  and  a  self-existent 
joy  of  heart,  that  can  only  be  known  by  those  who  feel  it. 
There  are  hours — lonely  hours — that  every  one  is  called 
to  pass,  at  one  time  or  another,  and  sorrows  that  no  one 
can  evade,  but  how  much  easier  are  they  borne  by  the 
mind  that  is  fortified  by  education,  and  which  finds  in 
itself  a  resting  place  when  all  around  is  turbulent  and 
black  with  storms  of  sorrow.  You  say  you  are  almost 
discouraged  trying  to  get  an  education.  It  is  true  that 
you  are  put  to  inconvenience  by  there  being  no  school 
there,  but  you  must  not  let  this  discourage  you.  You 


,50  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

can  read,  and,  as  you  say,  study  at  home,  and  if  you 
read  as  you  say  you  do,  two  volumes  a  week,  you  will 
improve  much  until  spring.  And  no  doubt  some  time 
you  will  get  an  opportunity,  and  the  more  you  accus- 
tom yourself  to  habits  of  study,  privately,  so  much 
the  greater  will  be  your  advantages  when  you  get  to 
school  hereafter." 

In  the  midst  of  his  studies,  he  found  time  for  some 
practical  theology  and  pastoral  work.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  second  year  at  Mercersburg,  he  wrote  : 

' '  I  got  my  cold  by  walking  to  the  country  to  address 
a  Sunday-school.  I  got  into  a  perspiration  while  I  was 
in  the  house  and  then  took  cold  when  I  came  out.  I 
have  established  a  Bible  class  about  two  miles  from 
town  among  the  young  folks  of  the  country.  They 
are  very  attentive  and  take  a  great  interest  in  it.  I 
meet  them  on  every  Sunday  afternoon  at  half-past 
three  o'clock.  The  class  is  composed  of  about  fifteen 
young  persons,  and  is  still  increasing.  I  expect  to 
have  an  interesting  class  and,  by  the  help  of  God,  to 
do  some  good  among  them." 

Probably  the  first  service  of  a  public  character 
which  he  performed  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  his  uncle  in  "  Harbaugh's  Valley,"  in 
December,  1842.  Jacob  Harbaugh  had  been  an 
exemplary  member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  an 
elder  in  the  congregation  at  his  home  for  many 
years,  and  had  reached  an  advanced  age.  Henry 
Harbaugh  was  present  at  his  funeral,  and  circum- 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  151 

stances  were  such  that  no  minister  was  able  to 
attend.  The  young  theological  student  offered  a 
prayer  and  sang  a  hymn  at  the  house. 

Henry  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  "  Little 
Cove,"  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Mercersburg.  He 
and  his  room  mate,  Mr.  Lesher,  were  there  by  in- 
vitation in  the  last  week  in  December,  1842.  They 
were  kindly  received  with  the  well-known  hospi- 
tality that  exists  for  travelers  and  strangers  unto 
this  day  in  that  little  valley.  He  preached  upon  the 
text  "  It  is  finished,"  and  spoke  for  about  fifty -five 
minutes — not  an  unusual  length  for  a  sermon  fifty 
years  ago. 

These  homilies  from  the  seminary,  and  the  serv- 
ices attendant,  were  well  received,  patiently  listened 
to,  and  piously  joined  in  by  the  people  ;  and  it  came 
to  be  an  event  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  in  the 
various  settlements,  "  when  the  students  came  down 
to  preach. ' '  The  reverence  with  which  these  young 
men  conducted  the  services,  and  the  ardor  and  en- 
thusiasm which  accompanied  their  discourses,  ap- 
pealed strongly  to  these  people.  If  at  times  theology 
and  botany  prevailed  too  largely  over  religion  and 
flowers  in  the  sermonizing,  nevertheless  the  influ- 
ences of  Rauch,  Nevin,  SchafF,  and  others  per- 
vaded it  all,  and  rendered  it  a  condition  of  amateur 
preaching  not  so  directly  given  to  other  communi- 
ties. 


I52  v          OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

A  short  time  after  his  experience  in  the  "  Little 
Cove,"  Henry  Harbaugh  replied  to  one  of  his 
friends  in  Ohio  : 

"  You  asked  if  I  was  embarrassed  when  I  preached. 
I  was  not.  I  felt  perfectly  composed.  I  have  to 
preach  again  on  Sunday  evening,  the  4th  of  February, 
about  two  miles  from  town,  in  a  little  village." 

Another  engagement  which  was  nearer  to  his 
heart  than  all  else  in  Mercersburg,  was  the  little 
singing  class  which  he  had  organized  in  connection 
with  his  leadership  of  the  Reformed  Church  choir. 
Only  a  few  months  before  leaving  the  seminary  in 
the  autumn  of  1843,  he  wrote  : 

"This  afternoon  about  three  o'clock  I  visited  the 
1  Juvenile  Female  Sewing  Society  '  of  Mercersburg,  of 
which  I  am  an  honorary  member.  Perhaps  I  told  you 
before  of  this  society.  It  consists  of  young  girls 
about  12  years  of  age.  They  sew  little  things,  the 
profit  of  which  is  devoted  to  missionary  purposes. 
They  have  already  between  four  and  five  dollars  of 
money.  I  like  to  encourage  them,  so  I  visit  them  fre- 
quently. They  meet  every  Saturday  afternoon.  They 
are  also  my  singing  class.  I  took  them  a  watermelon 
this  afternoon.  It  was  a  large  and  excellent  one. 
They  were  much  pleased  and  we  had  a  great  feast. 
They  are  improving  beyond  all  my  expectations,  and  I 
intend  to  hold  a  concert  this  fall  before  I  leave.  We 
are  at  present  practising  tunes  for  it  andjl  think  we 
will  have  a  crowded  audience.  I  do  not  like  to  part 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE.  153 

with  my  class  and  they  do  not  like  to  part  with  me,  but 
so  it  must  be.  It  is  harder  to  leave  this  class  than  any 
thing  else  I  have  found  in  Mercersburg. ' ' 

At  the  anniversary  exercises  of  the  Diagnothian 
Literary  Society,  held  July  4th,  1842,  he  was  on 
the  progam  with  Theodore  Appel,  John  Cessna, 
William  P.  Schell,  and  others.  The  last  part  on 
the  order  of  exercises,  was  :  u  Oration — The  Tomb 
of  Washington,  Henry  Harbaugh  of  Ohio."  At 
this  time  he  thought  very  seriously  of  again  inter- 
rupting his  course  of  study  to  teach  for  a  term  at 
Waynesboro.  Dr.  Nevin  then  gave  him  the  follow- 
ing certificate  : 

' '  Mr.  Henry  Harbaugh  has  been  in  connection  with 
the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  German  Reformed 
Synod,  as  a  student  of  theology,  since  last  fall ;  having 
previously  prapared  himself  for  college  in  the  Prepara- 
tory department.  He  bears  an  excellent  character,  as 
a  Christian  man  and  a  student,  and  I  can  readily  recom- 
mend him  as  one  likely  to  give  satisfaction  as  a  teacher 
in  the  situation  for  which  he  proposes  to  apply  at 
Waynesboro. ' ' 

He  did  not  accept  the  appointment,  however, 
and  that  fall  entered  again  upon  his  regular  studies 
at  Mercersburg.  Altogether  he  spent  three  years 
in  succession  at  Marshall  College  and  the  Seminary, 
the  first  year  entirely  in  the  college  and  the  remain- 
ing two  partly  in  the  college  and  partly  in  the 


154 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


seminary.  To  the  regular  theological  course  he 
added  what  he  could  from  the  college.  His  course 
was,  therefore,  not  regular,  and  he  did  not  gradu- 
ate, as  he  then  considered  his  youth  pretty  well 
gone  and  his  funds  small.  He  thought,  and  was 
so  advised  by  others,  that  he  might  be  useful  in  the 
ministry  with  a  partial  course.  u  It  is  not  so  much 
human  learning  that  God  will  bless  as  the  one  thing 
needful,"  he  wrote,  "  though  that  is  not  to  be  de- 
spised, and  I  pray  that  it  may  be  increased." 

But  his  mental  equipment  at  this  time,  and  also 
when  he  entered  the  active  work  of  the  ministry 
one  year  later,  was  better  than  he  knew.  Where 
he  had  crowded  time  and  had  interwoven  the  col- 
lege and  seminary  courses  of  study,  he  had  also 
marshaled  his  mental  powers  and  trained  them  to 
do  his  bidding  in  a  systematic  and  logical  way. 
Thirst  for  knowledge  and  an  unyielding  perseve- 
rance in  pursuit  of  it,  were  his  substitutes  for 
opportunity  and  time.  At  each  recurring  vacation 
time  his  thoughts  seemed  to  turn  towards  teaching. 
Barly  in  life  he  had  grasped  the  idea  of  improving 
his  own  mind  and  imparting  knowledge  to  others 
at  the  same  time.  He  regretted  that  there  were  so 
many  teachers  who  had  neither  appreciated  their 
advantages  nor  felt  their  responsibilities.  He  be- 
lieved that  a  school  teacher  ought  to  be  first  of  all 
a  Christian,  one  who  would  exert  a  moral  influence 


MARSHALL  COLLEGE. 


155 


and  cast  heavenly  seed  on  the  sunny  fields  of  child- 
hood, which  growing  up  might  be  for  the  glory  of 
God  in  eternal  ages.  He  advocated  the  organiza- 
tion of  libraries  in  every  school  house,  and  was 
personally  instrumental  in  starting  one  at  the  Am- 
sterdam school  house  near  his  old  home.  This 
was  while  he  was  at  the  seminary  in  Mercers- 
burg  in  1843.  -Dr.  Traill  Green,  then  teacher  of 
natural  sciences,  accompanied  him  to  his  home 
below  Waynesboro  and  made  an  address  to  the 
children  and  people  gathered  at  the  school  house, 
in  the  interest  of  such  a  library.  Within  a  few 
weeks  thereafter  they  had  170  volumes  and  the 
promise  of  many  more,  and  it  was  already  doing 
wonders  for  the  young  folks. 

In  August,  1843,  he  said  :  "  I  love  the  institution 
and  its  professors  as  well  as  many  of  the  students. 
With  the  citizens  of  the  town  I  have  very  little 
communication,  only  so  far  as  I  am  thrown  among 
them  in  the  common  relations  of  life." 

From  this  time  forward  he  bent  his  energies 
harder  than  ever  towards  the  completion  of  his 
course  in  the  seminary.  He  was  becoming  unduly 
anxious  to  enter  the  active  work  of  the  ministry, 
and  was  urged  all  the  more  in  this  direction  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  his  venerable  father,  though 
willing  now  to  assist  him,  found  himself  unable  to 
do  so  because  of  severe  financial  losses. 


I56  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

In  the  autumn  of  1843,  therefore,  he  completed 
his  course  in  the  seminary  and  left  Mercersburg, 
bearing  with  him  the  warm  personal  friendship  of 
Dr.  Nevin  and  others  of  the  faculty,  and  the  good 
wishes  of  many  friends  he  had  made  while  there. 


V.     TWENTY  YEARS   IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


REV.  HENRY  HARBAUGH,  as  he  may 
now  be  called,  found  that  there  were  many 
vacant  charges  in  Pennsylvania.  Ohio  was  also  a 
promising  mission  field  at  that  time  for  the  Re- 
formed Church.  He  visited  a  number  of  places  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia  and  preached  during  the 
autumn  of  1843.  From  some  of  them  he  received 
calls,  Westminster,  Md.,  and  Meadville,  Pa.,  being 
among  those  which  he  seriously  considered.  The 
mode  of  travel  to  the  various  places  was  slow  and 
expensive,  and  while  he  visited  and  preached  for  a 
number  of  congregations,  he  did  not  finally  decide 
upon  a  field  of  labor  until  after  the  meeting  of 
synod  at  Winchester,  Va.,  where  he  received  his 
authority  to  preach.  As  to  one  of  his  journeys  to 
preach  in  Maryland  he  speaks  as  follows  :  "I  left 
Mercersburg  on  Saturday  in  the  stage  to  Green- 
castle  —  10  miles,  and  from  there  I  went  to  Hagers- 
town,  Md.,  the  same  day  in  the  rail-cars.  It  is  a 
beautiful  way  of  traveling.  We  went  nine  miles 
in  a  half  hour.  It  looks  singular  to  see  a  steam 
locomotive  with  a  train  of  cars  moving  over  the 
country  *  like  a  thing  of  life'  and  at  so  fast  a  rate. 
Now  it  runs  fast  over  an  even  plain,  now  it  winds 
round  a  hill,  and  now  it  shoots  into  a  deep  cut,  and 


I58  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

then  out  again,  and  so  on,  puffing  and  blowing  like 
a  great  monster.  May  it  not  be  that  some  day  you 
will  ride  on  it?" 

Before  going  to  the  session  of  synod,  he  went 
back  to  his  old  home,  where,  in  accordance  with  a 
previous  arrangement  with  the  pastor,  Mr.  Philips, 
at  Jacob's  Church,  in  "  Harbaugh's  Valley,"  he 
assisted  in  the  series  of  services  leading  up  to  the 
celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion.  From  Thurs- 
day until  the  following  Monday  he  preached  nine 
times  at  the  old  stone  church.  Several  of  his  ser- 
mons were  in  the  German  language.  Seven  years 
before — brief  ones  they  seemed  to  him  now — he 
had  gone  away  from  the  mill  of  his  uncle  Elias  and 
had  taken  his  departure  from  his  ancestral  home  to 
"  fulfil  his  designs."  Now  he  was  standing  among 
his  relatives  and  friends  of  former  years,  preaching 
to  them  the  word  of  God.  It  was  a  trying  time, 
no  doubt,  but  the  warm  reception  of  his  friends, 
and  the  scenes  of  his  youth,  acted  as  a  blessed  in- 
spiration, and  the  occasion  gave  him  the  coveted 
opportunity  to  sweep  away  any  feeling  of  prejudice 
that  might  be  lingering  against  the  boy,  Unser 
Heinrich. 

Harbaugh's  Valley  was  first  settled  by  the  three 
Harbaugh  brothers — Ludwig,  George,  and  Jacob, 
in  the  year  1760.  They  came  from  the  Kreutz 
creek  settlement  in  York  County,  Pa.,  as  has  been 
stated  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Previous  to  the 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


159 


year  1822  they  worshiped  at  Apple's  Church,  near 
what  is  now  Thurmont,  Md.,  and  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  ministers,  had  their  services,  for  a  great 
part  of  the  time,  only  every  four  or  eight  weeks  on 
Thursday  instead  of  Sunday.  Jacob's  congregation 
was  organized  by  the  Rev.  David  Bassler,  then 
pastor  of  the  Kmmittsburg  charge,  and  the  stone 
church  was  erected  in  1823.  ^n  later  times  it  has 
come  to  be  called  St.  Jacob's  Church  by  what  Dr. 
Cort  terms  "  a  strange  misnomer."  "After  seventy- 
five  years,"  said  the  present  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cyrus  Cort,  "  it  stands  forth  strong  and  beautiful 
in  its  simplicity,  an  enduring  monument  to  the 
heroic  faith  and  piety  of  the  Reformed  fathers  and 
mothers  who  reared  it  in  the  midst  of  the  primeval 
forest."  These  words  were  uttered  on  the  occasion 
of  the  celebration  of  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  building  of  the  church — September  24,  1898. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  services  in  which  the 
Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh  took  part  at  Jacob's  Church, 
he  repaired  to  Winchester,  Va. ,  where  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  synod  October,  17,  1843. 

He  accepted  an  urgent  invitation  to  go  to  Lewis- 
burg,  Pa.,  to  preach  for  the  people  with  a  view  of 
becoming  their  pastor.  The  former  pastor  had 
resigned  owing  to  his  inability  to  preach  in  the 
German  language,  and  the  people  were  rejoiced  at 
the  prospect  of  having  a  minister.  Mr.  Harbaugh' s 
impressions  of  the  town  and  country  were  very 


X6o  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

favorable.  He  pronounced  it  a  beautiful  place, 
and  the  people  received  him  with  a  warmth  and 
kindness  that  never  abated  in  the  least  during  his 
seven  years'  pastorate  among  them. 

The  charge  was  made  up  of  two  congregations, 
one  at  L,ewisburg  and  the  other  six  miles  in  the 
country.  To  the  country  congregation  he  preached 
altogether  in  English.  In  town  German  and  Eng- 
lish alternately  every  other  Sunday.  He  entered 
upon  his  work  without  delay.  In  addition  to  the 
services  mentioned  above,  he  conducted  a  weekly 
lecture  and  prayer  meeting,  and  the  Sunday-school. 
He  started  a  Bible  class  with  an  attendance  of  34 
members.  He  received  a  salary  of  $300  a  year 
from  this  charge,  but  within  the  first  year  of  his 
pastorate  the  Milton  congregation  was  added,  and 
he  also  served  several  other  points  in  an  irregular 
manner,  and  his  salary  was  increased  proportion- 
ately. Nevertheless,  he  had  a  rather  meagre  in- 
come, but  his  people  were  kind  and  they  manifested 
their  approval  of  his  labors  frequently  in  a  substan- 
tial way.  He  began  his  ministry  in  December,  1843, 
and  was  ordained  on  the  24th  of  January  following. 
He  found  L,ewisburg  to  be  a  town  of  considerable 
size,  pleasantly  located  on  the  west  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  river,  about  ten  miles  above  the 
forks.  It  is  in  the  historic  Buffalo  Valley  in  cen- 
tral Pennsylvania,  arnid  fertile  farm  lands,  bounded 
by  the  Blue  mountains  in  the  distance. 


HENRY  HARBAUGH  AT  THE  AGE  OP  35   YEARS.      PROM  DAOUBRRBOTYPB  TAKEN  IN  1882. 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  !6i 

After  accepting  the  call  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  old 
friends  in  Ohio,  and  on  December  14,  1843,  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Louisa  Goodrich,  of 
New  Hagerstown,  Carroll  County,  Ohio,  whose 
acquaintance  he  had  made  in  his  early  life  at  the 
New  Hagerstown  Academy.  This  union  lasted 
until  the  summer  of  1847,  when  the  companion  of 
his  youth,  while  on  a  visit  with  him  to  the  home 
of  her  parents  in  the  West,  was  stricken  with  fever 
and  died,  September  26. 

The  people  of  Lewisburg  charge  had  been  labor- 
ing under  the  disadvantage  of  worshiping  in  com- 
mon with  the  Lutherans  in  a  so-called  Union 
church,  which  prevented  them  from  having  services 
oftener  than  every  other  Sunday.  The  young  pas- 
tor saw  at  once  the  many  inconveniences  arising 
from  a  system  of  this  kind  to  both  the  minister 
and  his  people,  and  efforts  were  put  forth  at  once 
to  establish  a  church  exclusively  Reformed.  This 
was  not  fully  accomplished,  however,  until  1847, 
when  a  substantial  brick  church  was  'erected  to  the 
service  and  honor  of  God.  The  result  thus  attained 
was  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the .  energy  and  zeal 
of  the  young  pastor. 

The  practical  work  of  the  ministry  was  a  revela- 
tion to  him.  After  all  his  experience  in  the  world 
of  mental  and  physical  labor ;  after  his  painstaking 
course  in  practical  and  theoretical  theology,  he 
assumed  the  pastoral  charge  of  this  little  flock  of 


!62  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

God's  people  in  fear  and  trembling.  Of  the  reality 
of  his  call  to  the  work  he  had  never  any  doubt.  He 
felt  that  the  way  leading  from  his  confirmation  in 
1836,  to  his  ordination  to  the  ministry  in  1844,  had 
been  hard,  and  that  his  efforts  had  been  conscien- 
tious, and  yet,  while  on  the  threshold  of  the  life 
which  he  had  so  earnestly  longed  for,  he  confessed 
that  he  was  inefficient  and  yet  groping  in  the  dark 
in  many  things  that  concerned  his  Master's  king- 
dom. His  services  at  the  altar,  in  the  pulpit,  and 
his  ministrations  among  the  people  at  their  homes 
were  not  in  accordance  with  the  plans  which  he  had 
pondered  over  beforehand.  The  outer  world  had  a 
chilling  effect  on  the  church.  His  people  were  per- 
verse at  times,  over-zealous  as  to  one  branch  of  the 
church  work  and  coldly  indifferent  to  another.  The 
young  parson  himself  often  allowed  trifles  to  vex 
him,  and  permitted  responsibilities  that  did  not 
properly  belong  to  him  to  lie  heavily  upon  his 
heart ;  so  that  at  times  he  was  moody  and  so  lack- 
ing in  grace  as  to  be  ready  to  exclaim  :  "  Oh,  who 
is  sufficient  to  be  a  faithful  minister  of  God  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season  !" 

The  young  pastor  was  a  good  listener  to  what 
laymen  had  to  say.  His  good  humor  kept  all  dis- 
couragements and  moods  in  the  background.  His 
sense  of  despondency  was  not  intruded  upon  his 
people.  His  periods  of  mental  depression  were 
fought  out  for  the  most  part  at  his  desk,  and  his 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

trials  of  faith  were  sustained  by  prayer.  With 
persons  from  abroad  who  wished  to  enlist  his  sym- 
pathies, or  perhaps  tempt  him  with  books  he  could 
not  afford  to  buy,  he  exercised  marvelous  patience, 
and  he  soon  learned  to  close  off  in  a  manner  void 
of  offense  that  peculiar  class  of  people  who  essayed 
to  entertain  him  with  long  stories  on  short  subjects. 
The  work  which  he  laid  out  to  do  admitted  of  no 
waste  places  in  the  flight  of  time. 

He  was  eager  for  work,  open  to  suggestions  of 
others,  and  keenly  observant  of  the  lives  and  plans 
of  his  own  people  and  of  the  community  at  large. 
Whenever  opportunity  afforded  he  attended  services 
at  the  several  churches  of  the  town,  and,  though 
not  openly  critical,  he  found  much  to  reflect  upon 
for  his  own  benefit.  He  did  not  approve  of  preach- 
ing on  a  subject  when  the  people  were  in  agitation 
upon  it.  He  early  observed  the  danger  of  sensa- 
tionalism, and  his  tendency  in  the  pulpit  was  away 
from  the  questions  of  the  day  towards  the  simple 
word  of  God.  A  most  striking  exception  in  this, 
however,  was  on  the  subject  of  temperance,  in 
which  he  was  most  persistent  and  uncompromising 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  early  ministry. 

Preaching,  he  considered,  ought  to  be  plain  and 
to  the  point ;  and  a  preacher,  like  other  men,  when 
he  has  nothing  to  say,  ought  to  say  nothing.  He 
disliked  argument  when  entered  into  merely  for  its 
own  sake,  but  polemics  for  a  purpose  grew  upon 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

him,  and  he  became  proficient  and  formidable  on 
the  floor  of  synod. 

He  avoided  disputes  with  his  fellow-townsmen 
when  he  found  them  ignorant  of  the  subject  under 
discussion.  He  encountered  considerable  difficulty 
with  the  prevailing  Unitarian  sentiment  and  also 
with  certain  persons  who  urged  upon  him  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  "Anxious  Bench"  exposition  then 
lately  published  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Nevin.  He 
was  dismayed  by  the  display  of  shallow  thinking 
upon  this  and  kindred  subjects,  and  failed  to  appre- 
ciate the  humor  of  one  disputant,  who  sagely  as- 
serted that  Dr.  Nevin  had  given  it  the  wrong 
name,  inasmuch  as  the  "bench  is  never  anxious." 

He  deplored  the  lack  of  discipline  in  the  congre- 
gation as  he  found  it,  and  often  regretted  on  Mon- 
day that  he  had  spoken  so  severely  to  his  people 
the  previous  day.  He  grieved  over  the  lack  of 
unity  in  the  church  at  large,  and,  in  this  respect, 
he  assumed  a  burden  of  thought  which  no  one  man 
is  called  upon  to  bear.  In  later  years,  though  with 
unabated  zeal  in  the  work  of  the  church,  he 
looked  upon  God  alone  as  the  power  that  could 
heal  her  divisions. 

He  discovered  that  it  required  a  great  deal  of  res- 
olution to  carry  forward  regular  studies  where  there 
was  so  much  interruption  and  so  many  circum- 
stances to  intrude  upon  him.  He  could  study  well 
when  walking  in  the  country  or  along  the  river 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  Z65 

bank.  He  could  always  learn  a  good  lesson  in  con- 
versation with  children,  and  on  one  occasion  when 
he  had  found  it  hard  to  persuade  a  boy  that  birds 
like  to  live,  he  observed  that  uone  seed  in  the 
young  mind  is  worth  ten  in  the  old."  At  times 
his  sermons,  prepared  with  a  great  deal  of  labor 
and  conscientious  effort,  seemed  to  be  dull  and  un- 
profitable, while  after  a  time  of  restlessness  and 
inability  to  command  the  powers  of  his  mind,  he 
would  preach  with  ease  and  feel  that  the  effect  had 
been  good.  He  believed  that  the  best  pulpit  elo- 
quence was  when  the  truth  was  brought  fairly  to 
the  conscience.  He  thought  that  a  pastor  must 
not  expect  the  people  to  lead  him  in  any  profitable 
exercise  ;  he  must  lead  them. 

He  found  the  German  language  difficult,  espe- 
cially in  sermonizing,  and  once  in  a  while  his  ser- 
mon was  made  singularly  emphatic  by  a  little 
hesitation  and  then  the  introduction  of  a  broad, 
crisp  Anglo-Saxon  word  in  place  of  the  German 
one  that  could  not  be  recalled.  After  ten  years  of 
pulpit  experience  and  no  small  amount  of  transla- 
ting of  the  German  language,  he  still  found  it 
something  of  an  effort  to  preach  the  German,  and 
a  welcome  relief  to  resort  to  English. 

He  found  it  not  good  to  be  in  all  kinds  of  company 
when  intending  to  preach,  and  he  could  preach  best 
when  he  went  direct  from  his  study  to  the  pulpit. 
This  indicates  a  difficulty  which  many  ministers 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

have  in  fairly  balancing  the  duties  of  pastoral  visit- 
ation and  public  services  in  the  house  of  God. 

But  with  all  the  little  frictions  incident  to  a  first 
pastorate,  and  with  the  grace  to  calmly  accept  them, 
which  comes  of  experience,  Henry  Harbaugh  grew 
very  fond  of  his  little  flock.  While  he  pursued 
his  work  with  unabated  vigor  and  stood  up  for  right 
as  he  saw  it  without  compromise,  the  relation  of 
himself  and  his  people  rose  to  a  pure  glow  of  affec- 
tion. This  is  well  indicated  in  his  reply  to  a  sug- 
gestion that  he  should  accept  another  charge  in  the 
spring  of  1847  : 

' '  I  can  see  no  reason  why  I  should  leave  these  peo- 
ple. I  believe  I  have  their  confidence,  and  am,  under 
God,  useful  to  them.  My  salary  is  not  near  so  large  as 
that  of  which  you  speak,  and  scarcely  large  enough  to 
support  me  as  a  minister  ought  to  be  supported,  but 
this  is  not  so  much  of  a  consideration.  The  charge  is 
small,  new,  and  my  salary  is  every  year  increasing.  It 
is  because  the  charge  you  speak  of  gives  more  that  I 
ain  fearful  of  giving  the  least  encouragement,  lest  it 
might  be  the  impulse  of  a  wrong  spirit. 

' '  Whether  my  qualifications  are  such  as  would  meet 
the  case  you  represent,  I  cannot  say.  That  must  be 
learned  from  another  source.  This,  though,  is  what  I 
can  say  in  reply  to  your  friendly  epistle  :  Accept  my 
thanks  for  any  concern  you  have  manifested  in  my  wel- 
fare. May  God  make  it  plain.  I  will  not  leave  I/ewis- 
burg  until  God  makes  me  leave  :  that  is,  until  He 
makes  it  so  plain  as  that  it  shall  not  be  possible  for  me 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  ^7 

to  mistake  it.  And  this  He  will  do  if  it  be  His  will  that 
I  shall  go." 

The  thoughtless  jibes  of  the  public  press  upon 
this  subject  need  no  refutation,  but  if  they  did,  such 
words  as  the  foregoing  ought  to  suffice  among 
thoughtful  people.  They  are  but  the  words  of  one 
recording  the  actions  of  the  many  faithful,  con- 
scientious servants  of  God. 

The  call  to  which  the  above  paragraph  is  a  reply, 
set  forth  the  facts  that  one  of  the  most  important 
of  our  churches  was  about  to  become  vacant,  that 
there  was  but  the  one  congregation,  for  which  a 
minister  would  be  required  who  could  preach  in 
both  languages — uone  who  could  preach  a  good 
practical,  doctrinal  sermon  (a  Heidelberg  Catechism 
man)" — one  who  could  preach  ua  common  sense 
three-quarter  of  an  hour  sermon  so  that  any  Penn- 
sylvania-German can  understand  it" — one  who 
would  "  visit  the  sick,  and  every  family  of  his 
flock  once  or  twice  at  least  during  the  year — a  sys- 
tematic, pastoral  visit."  The  compensation  was  to 
be  $500  or  perhaps  $600 — u  no  horse  or  conveyance 
required." 

It  was  to  this  part  of  the  communication  the 
following  words  of  the  reply  refer  :  "  Whether  my 
qualifications  are  such  as  would  meet  the  case  you 
represent,  I  cannot  say." 

Among  the  pleasant  and  encouraging  features  of 
his  life  at  Lewisburg  were  the  visits  of  Drs.  Schaff 


1 68  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

and  Nevin  and  other  ministers  of  the  church,  with 
whom  he  took  great  delight  in  conversing,  and  who 
preached  for  him  frequently.  Thus  he  could  keep 
in  touch  with  the  institutions  of  learning,  and  keep 
himself  informed  of  the  great  activities  of  the 
church  and  of  the  best  thought  of  its  men  of  light 
and  leading. 

One  of  the  brightest  hours  of  his  weekly  labor 
was  the  meeting  of  the  Sunday-school  teachers. 
Here  his  love  of  teaching  found  its  true  response  ; 
here  also  lay  his  best  opportunity  to  do  lasting 
work.  With  such  a  devoted,  faithful,  and  thor- 
oughly unselfish  portion  of  his  flock  before  him,  he 
knew  that  an  influence  would  be  wielded  and  good 
seed  be  sown  for  a  fruitful  harvest.  This  training  of 
the  teachers  he  placed  second  in  importance  only  to 
the  course  of  instruction  in  the  catechism  for  those 
who  were  looking  towards  confirmation  to  the 
church.  To  this  catechetical  class  he  was  con- 
stantly devoted,  and  those  who  were  confirmed  in 
the  course  of  his  ministry  were  most  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  solemnity  and  earnestness  of  his 
final  words  to  them.  The  final  examination  of  his 
catechumens  was  usually  held  before  the  consistory 
and  a  good  part  of  the  congregation. 

He  began  early  to  write  articles  for  the  Messenger. 
He  prepared  the  first  prologue  for  the  anniversary 
of  the  Diagnothian  L,iterary  Society  of  Marshall 
College  in  1845,  an^  in  that  year  wrote  and  deliv- 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  ^9 

ered  a  sermon  to  his  people  on  the  subject  of  heaven. 
This  afterwards  became  one  of  a  series  of  sermons 
which  were  rewritten  and  became  his  first  published 
volume — u The  Sainted  Dead."  His  tendency  in 
preparing  sermons  was  to  run  into  serials  and  his 
mid-weekly  lectures  partook  of  that  character  for 
the  most  part. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1847  he  set  out  with  wife 
and  little  daughter,  Mary,  to  visit  Ohio.  They 
made  the  journey  in  easy  stages  by  horse  and  car- 
riage. The  young  pastor  was  in  good  spirits,  and 
after  an  exceptionally  hard  year's  work,  was  eager 
for  the  freedom  of  a  vacation,  and  delighted  with 
the  prospect  of  a  leisurely  trip  through  the  moun- 
tains of  Western  Pennsylvania.  He  was  leaving 
his  people  in  peace.  The  work  of  his  pastorate  had 
prospered.  The  new  church  project  was  then  well 
under  way.  The  corner  stone  had  been  laid  on 
May  7,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  peo- 
ple. Dr.  J.  W.  Nevin  had  been  present  and 
preached  the  sermon.  Subscriptions  to  the  new 
church  had  been  raised  to  the  amount  of  $i, 600 
with  but  a  few  days  of  canvassing.  Everything 
seemed  favorable  for  a  good  rest  in  travel  and  at  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Harbaugh  in  Ohio.  The  one  sad 
stroke  upon  them  at  this  time  was  the  death  of  their 
second  child,  a  daughter  who  died  just  two  days  be- 
fore the  occasion  of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone, 
aged  only  eighteen  days.  At  one  place  where  they 


170 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


remained  over  night  in  their  travels  west  there  had 
been  scarlet  fever  among  the  children  of  the  house- 
hold. This  fact  was  discovered  only  after  it  was 
too  late  to  adopt  any  precautions,  and  soon  after 
their  arrival  in  New  Hagerstown,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Har- 
baugh  took  sick  with  a  virulent  attack  of  scarlet 
fever  which  was  complicated  with  rheumatism, 
from  which  she  never  recovered.  After  a  few 
weeks  of  intense  suffering  she  slept  in  death,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1847,  aged  twenty-three  years  and  three 
months.  She  was  buried  there  among  the  friends 
of  her  childhood,  and  the  sad  homecoming  of  the 
young  man  with  his  little  daughter  may  be  much 
better  imagined  than  described.  Very  touching 
indeed  was  the  sympathy  shown  by  his  people  at 
Lewisburg,  and  he  at  once  resumed  his  duties  among 
them  with  mind  turned  more  solemnly  than  ever 
to  the  contemplation  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave. 
He  was  an  interested  observer  and  student  of 
public  questions.  He  did  not  like  practical  poli- 
tics, and  could  not  abide  the  unstudied  and  careless 
speeches  of  the  hustings.  He  often  attended  dis- 
cussions of  a  political  character,  however,  and 
during  the  forties  was  inclining  in  his  political 
faith  towards  the  movement  which  afterwards  crys- 
talized  into  the  Republican  party.  In  July,  1848, 
writing  to  his  brother,  he  made  the  following  preg- 
nant and  prophetic  utterance  : 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  IyI 

' '  There  is  a  powerful  anti-slavery  spirit  getting  up. 
I  would  not  be  surprised  if  the  candidate  to  be  taken 
up  at  Buffalo  (Van  Buren)  in  August  would  succeed. 
May  God  grant  it.  If  he  does  not,  then  in  1852  we 
will  have  two  parties,  thus,  '  Slavery  and  anti-slavery,' 
then  the  Union  will  be  divided.  It  cannot  stand,  it 
will  not  stand  six  years  longer,  unless  the  current  of 
our  country's  history  will  take  a  sudden  turn.  We 
are  now  going  towards  a  split  fast  and  far.  However, 
'  God  who  sitteth  in  the  heavens  will  laugh,'  and  His 
kingdom  will  rise  with  even  new  power  and  freshness 
out  of  the  wrecks  of  revolution." 

The  Free-soil  party  failed  to  receive  even  one 
electoral  vote,  in  1848,  but  events  did  take  a  sudden 
turn  in  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
which  aroused  Lincoln  and  other  leading  men  of 
the  nation  to  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party.  And  in  1858,  Lincoln  uttered  a  prophecy 
similar  to  the  one  quoted  above,  though  on  a  public 
and  momentous  occasion,  and  more  nearly  in  the 
fulness  of  time : 

' '  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  I 
believe  this  government  cannot  endure  permanently 
half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to 
be  dissolved  ;  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall ;  but  I 
do  expect  that  it  will  cease  to  be  divided  .  .  .  .  " 

Having  built  and  dedicated  a  new  church  at 
Lewisburg,  and  having  built  the  congregation  up 
in  membership  and  influence  in  the  community, 


I72  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

the  Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh,  after  much  deliberation, 
felt  constrained  to  accept  a  call  to  the  First  Re- 
formed Church,  Lancaster,  Pa.  It  was  with  great 
regret  that  he  gave  up  his  first  pastorate.  The  ties 
were  stronger  than  ever  now  for  the  reason  that  he 
had  married  Mary  Louisa  Linn,  whose  home  was  in 
Lewisburg,  on  November  14,  1848. 

In  March,  1850,  he  took  up  his  work  at  Lancas- 
ter. His  pastorate  there  proved  to  be  the  busiest 
ten  years  of  his  life.  He  edited  The  Guardian,  a 
monthly  magazine  which  he  had  started  at  Lewis- 
burg  in  January,  1850,  finished  the  second  volume 
of  his  work  on  the  future  state,  **  Heavenly  Recog- 
nition,'7 and  prepared  the  "Sainted  Dead"  for  a 
third  edition  during  the  first  year  at  Lancaster. 
He  also  prepared  for  publication  "  The  Fathers  of 
the  Reformed  Church,"  uThe  Palatinate  Cate- 
chism,"  "Union  with  the  Church,"  u  The  Birds  of 
the  Bible,"  u  Life  of  Michael  Schlatter,"  and  much 
other  work  which  will  be  referred  to  more  at  length 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

From  such  busy  scenes  as  these  Dr.  Harbaugh 
would  sometimes  flee  to  the  mountains  or  to  some 
place  in  the  country  with  a  friend  or  two  for  recre- 
ation. To  his  friend  Dr.  Bausman  he  wrote  in  the 
mid-summer  of  1857  : 

* '  You  preached  last  Sunday  on  the  childlike  in 
Christ.  So  did  I  in  the  evening.  At  least  a  good  part 
of  my  sermon  was  on  that.  I  preached  on  Christian 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  !73 

cheerfulness,  perhaps  suggested  by  your  remark  on 
Ward  Beecher's  sermon.  My  idea  was  that  the  Chris- 
tian is  the  childlike,  and  the  childlike  is  the  cheerful. 
A  child  is  often  vexed,  fretful,  &c.,  but  never  sad.  If 
sad,  then  morbid.  I  agree  with  you  that  we  may  well 
wish  to  be  children  again.  That  is  a  bright  spot  that 
comes  but  once  in  life.  As  we  get  older  we  are  forced 
to  fence  off  the  world  on  account  of  its  untrue  charac- 
ter, and  with  it  banish  the  heaven  that  lies  about  us  in 
our  infancy. 

"You  banter  me  in  your  letter  to  spend  a  vacation 
with  you.  Well,  Bro.  B.,  I  would  do  anything  in  the 
world  to  cheer  you.  Although  I  have  no  particular 
need  of  recreation,  feeling  pretty  well,  yet  it  would  not 
hurt  me  ;  and  how  pleasant  for  us  to  spend  a  week  to- 
gether. Now  hear  what  I  say  :  You  come  down  to  the 
junction  (in  Perry  County)  next  Monday,  or  to  Millers- 
town,  on  the  Juniata,  with  your  carriage,  and  I  will 
meet  you  there.  And  we  will  go  to  any  place  you 
please  for  a  week — to  Perry  County,  to  Chambersburg, 
Mercersburg,  and  my  brother's  at  Waynesboro — any 
place  you  please.  And  on  Saturday  we  will  separate 
at  the  same  place  and  go  home  to  preach.  How  would 
a  trip  to  brother  C.  H.  Leinbach's,  in  Perry  County, 
do,  for  a  week  ?  Fine  ;  we  could  go  whortleberrying, 
and  talk  about  all  things.  There  is  so  much  pomposity 
and  empty  flourish  in  this  world,  and  in  these  times, 
that  it  does  one  good  to  come  heart  to  heart.  Perhaps 
a  week  away  from  your  cares  would  do  you  good.  And 
if  in  the  way  proposed,  I  can  add  something  to  your 
comfort,  oh,  how  gladly  will  I  do  it." 


1 74  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

"  What  a  memorable  week  that  was,"  writes  Dr. 
Bausman.  ' '  Strolling  along  the  banks  of  a  stream, 
Dr.  Harbaugh  mounted  a  log,  made  a  low  awkward 
bow,  and  delivered  a  parody  on  a  political  speech. 
I  can  still  see  him,  his  face  flushed  with  fiery  ardor 
of  the  occasion,  himself  looking  so  smilingless  and 
grave,  and  the  rest  of  us  convulsed  with  laughter, 
till  one's  sides  ached. " 

On  another  occasion,  writing  to  Dr.  Bausman 
who  was  then  in  Europe,  Dr.  Harbaugh  said,  among 
other  things  : 

' '  When  I  read  your  letter  I  had  an  indescribable 
strong  desire  to  be  with  you,  and  had  I  then  been  able 
to  command  the  speed  of  the  telegraph,  you  would 

have  met  me  soon But  let  it  go  now.  If 

I  do  not  get  to  Europe,  we  will  get  to  heaven  some 
day — won't  we?  And  as  Stilling  says:  '  Dort  lasst 
sich  noch  mehr  von  diesen  Sachen  sagen  '  (There  we 
shall  have  some  more  to  say  about  these  matters). 

' '  I  was  out  at  the  fish  baskets  last  week  (in  the 
Conestoga,  near  the  old  Bausman  homestead).  We 
had  a  pleasant  time — two  eels  and  forty  suckers.  We 
were  wishing  you  were  along  with  us.  Got  some  of 
H's  apples  and  cider  on  our  return.  I  had  your  old 
coat  on  and  filled  it  out  pretty  well. ' ' 

Only  those  who  knew  the  tall  and  slender  young 
Bausman  and  the  broad  shouldered  Dr.  Harbaugh 
in  1857  would  be  able  to  appreciate  the  humor  of 
that  last  sentence. 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


175 


During  the  winter  of  1858-1859,  he  preached  a 
series  of  sermons  on  the  subject  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
which  attracted  large  audiences  to  his  evening  ser- 
vices, some  among  his  hearers  being  Roman  Cath- 
olics. Report  went  out  through  the  community 
that  he  was  developing  decided  Romanizing  ten- 
dencies. In  January,  1859,  he  preached  the  fifth 
and  last  sermon  of  this  series  and  at  the  request  of 
not  a  few  of  his  friends,  prepared  the  manuscript 
for  publication,  which  appeared  in  book  form  under 
the  caption  of  u  The  True  Glory  of  Woman,"  and 
had  a  large  circulation. 

The  preparation  of  these  books,  particularly  the 
u Lives  of  the  Fathers,"  which  he  declared  time 
and  again  had  been  too  long  neglected,  was  a  great 
labor  in  itself.  In  1850,  beginning  February  i,  he 
preached  107  sermons  in  Lancaster  and  28  at  other 
places  ;  to  this  must  be  added  ten  or  twelve  lectures 
on  special  occasions.  In  1851,  125  sermons  in 
Lancaster  and  30  elsewhere.  In  1852,  97  sermons 
in  Lancaster  and  35  at  other  points.  And  so  the 
average  kept  up  during  his  pastorate  of  ten  years, 
and  indeed  during  his  whole  after  life. 

In  a  meditation  upon  this  portion  of  his  work,  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1851,  he  made  the  following 
entry  in  his  diary  : 

"  'As  the  rain  cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from 
heaven,  and  returneth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the 


!76  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

earth  and  maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may 
give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  bread  to  the  eater  :  so  shall 
My  word  be  that  goeth  forth  out  of  My  mouth  :  it 
shall  not  return  unto  Me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish 
that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing 
whereto  I  sent  it. '  (Isaiah  55, — 10,  n). 

"  I  believe  in  God  and  in  all  His  promises — in  His 
power  and  grace,  and  with  cheerful  confidence,  look 
back  upon  all  these  sermons  as  blest  of  Him.  In  this 
lies  the  consolation  of  a  pastor.  What  has  been  defi- 
cient in  the  presentation  of  the  truth  will  be  pardoned 
through  the  same  blood  by  which  we  believe  we  have 
been  pardoned  of  other  sins,  and  received  into  favor. 
Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest — all  praise  to  the  L,amb — 
all  honor  to  the  Spirit.  Amen!" 

The  following  paragraphs  from  Dr.  Harbaugh's 
address  delivered  at  the  close  of  the  Allentown 
Seminary,  April  3,  1861,  are  given  as  specimens  of 
his  style  and  diction  in  that  kind  of  public  dis- 
courses : 

"  The  story  of  the  fall  is  a  prophecy  for  the  world. 
This  first  chapter  in  man's  history  is  repeated  in  every 
subsequent  one.  As  sin  has  made  man  a  slave  to  the 
useful,  he  has  learned  to  love  his  master.  While  the 
penalty  of  sin  has  made  him  toil  for  the  useful,  the 
power  of  sin  has  at  the  same  time  wrought  to  make  him 
sensual,  selfish,  earthly  ;  so  that  if  in  any  case  he 
reaches  wealth  beyond  his  wants,  he  adds  miserliness 
to  his  misery.  Instead  of  pursuing  the  useful  as  means, 
he  pursues  it  as  end.  Making  an  end  of  what  is  only 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


177 


designed  as  a  means,  he  becomes  mean  in  the  pursuit 
of  means,  and  sees  nothing  beautiful  beyond  what 
ministers  to  his  degraded  lust  of  means  and  money. 

1  *  What  then  is  his  idea  of  education  and  cultiva- 
tion? The  useful.  The  mind  is  a  means  to  get 
money ;  money  is  not  a  means  to  be  used  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  mind.  Whatever  brings  money  is  useful ; 
whatever  costs  money  is  evil.  A  little  writing,  a  little 
reading,  a  little  cyphering  is  necessary  and  cheap. 
But  the  higher  branches — painting,  music,  all  the 
finer  arts,  all  the  beautiful  sciences,  which  a  man  can 
neither  eat,  nor  drink,  nor  sell — what  are  they  good 
for  ?  It  is  all  money  thrown  away  ! 

1 '  Such  men  would  rather  have  a  big  strong  horse 
than  an  educated  child — would  rather  have  stock  in 
bank  than  stock  in  the  heads  of  their  children — would 
rather  see  their  children  hoe  another  potato  patch  than 
study  another  book.  They  say  mules  are  more  useful 
than  music  ;  pigs  are  better  than  pictures.  They  say, 
give  us  little  books  and  big  bakeovens — little  learning 
and  large  ledgers — big  barns  and  little  seminaries.  To 
such  results  are  we  necessarily  and  consistently  brought 
by  carrying  out  the  principle  that  the  useful  is  the  first 
and  most  important  interest  in  life — a  principle  false  in 
its  position  and  debasing  in  its  tendency." 

Within  the  first  year  of  his  pastorate  at  Lancaster 
the  subject  of  a  new  church  building  was  being 
agitated.  The  actual  work  began  shortly  after  the 
close  of  the  winter  months.  The  old  church  was 
one  of  the  few  specimens  left  among  the  Pennsyl- 


I78  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

vania  Germans.  It  had  been  well  built  of  selected 
materials,  and  though  the  young  pastor  thought  it 
a  sad  sight  to  witness  such  an  old  temple  of  God 
laid  in  ruins,  yet  it  was  right  to  do  so,  as  the  new 
one  was  needed.  To  prepare  a  sermon  for  such  a 
peculiar  occasion  as  the  farewell  services  in  a  99 
year  old  house  of  worship  was  no  light  task.  The 
venerable  landmark  soon  disappeared  under  the 
strokes  of  the  workmen  and  the  ground  was  made 
ready  for  the  new  building.  It  was  of  far  greater 
proportions  than  the  one  built  at  Lewisburg,  and 
much  more  handsome  in  its  architecture  and  ap- 
pointments. The  corner  stone  was  laid  May  30, 
1851,  and  the  work  went  regularly  forward  from 
that  time  to  its  completion  except  as  to  the  towers, 
which  remained  unfinished  some  time  after  the 
building  was  in  use. 

In  February,  1854,  the  consecration  services  were 
held,  and  it  was  a  joyous  occasion,  largely  attended 
by  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  Reformed  Church 
and  by  citizens  generally  of  Lancaster  city.  July 
25  of  the  same  year  witnessed  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  new  college  building.  Henry 
Harbaugh  had  been  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  the  institution,  was  a  member  of  the  committee, 
and  assisted  personally  in  selecting  the  site.  He 
made  an  address  on  the  occasion  referred  to  above.  * 

*NOTB. — Franklin  College,  established  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1787,  and 
Marshall  College,  founded  by  the  Reformed  Church  at  Mercersburg,  Pa., 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


179 


The  last  few  years  of  his  ministry  at  Lancaster 
weighed  heavily  on  the  heart  of  the  young  pastor 
on  account  of  the  antagonism  which  arose  within 
the  congregation.  His  uncompromising  position  on 
the  subject  of  temperance  was  a  disturbing  factor. 
His  strong  advocacy  of  the  liturgy  then  under  con- 
sideration by  a  committee  of  synod,  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  aroused  bitter  opposition  and  greatly 
impaired  his  work  in  the  charge.  His  consistory 
was  sadly  divided  against  itself,  and  gradually  a 
majority  was  arrayed  against  him.  He  resigned  in 

1857,  but  was  induced  to  reconsider  and  withdraw 
his  resignation.      He  remained  until  the  autumn  of 
1860,  during  which  time  the  appeal  taken  to  classis 
on  his  behalf  was  sustained.     It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  such  facts  need  to  be  recorded,  and  they  have 

in  1836,  were  consolidated  under  a  new  charter  in  1852,  the  union  taking 
effect  in  1853.  In  view  of  the  proposed  celebration  of  the  soth  anniversary, 
the  jubilee  of  the  founding  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College,  ia  1903,  the 
following  memoranda  made  by  Dr.  Harbaugh  may  not  be  without  interest: 
"  Franklin  College — It  was  first  held  on  Water  Street,  the  second  house 
above  or  north  of  Orange  on  the  west  side,  in  a  stone  building  which  was 
afterwards  turned  into  a  brewery.  Prof.  Reichenbach  was  then  teacher. 
He  was  celebrated  as  a  mathematician.  From  thence  it  was  removed  to  a. 
building  on  the  back  lot  from  south  Queen  Street  near  Vine,  on  the  alley, 
which  building  has  been  lately  and  for  some  time  the  lockup  of  the  city — 
a  stone  building.  To  this  place  it  was  removed  in  1790  and  remained  till 
1793.  This  building  was  erected  during  the  Revolutionary  war  as  a  Con- 
tinental stable  for  horses,  by  Col.  Mathias  Slouch,  who  was  a  German, 
commissary  of  supplies,  receiving  his  title  from  that  fact,  never  having 
been  in  military  service.  Thence  it  was  removed  to  North  Queen  Street. 
That  place,  when  it  was  removed  thence,  was  turned  into  a  hall  for  the 
exhibition  of  mountebanks  !  Gov.  Bigler  and  others  began  their  rafting 
business  by  squatting  on  the  lands  of  Franklin  College  in  Clearfield 
County.  These  facts  I  obtain  from  Col.  Mayer,  now  79  years  old,  Sept.  21, 

1858.  H.  HARBAUGH." 


!8o  LIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

been  touched  upon  only  in  so  far  as  it  seems  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  thread  of  narrative  unbroken.  He 
left  Lancaster  because  he  was  unable  to  make  his 
labors  there  acceptable  to  all  of  his  people,  but  he 
gave  up  the  charge  only  after  he  believed  himself 
fully  vindicated.  Whatever  may  be  said  on  behalf 
of  those  who  so  bitterly  opposed  him,  it  can  be  con- 
fidently asserted  on  his  behalf  that  he  grieved  and 
wept  over  the  church  at  Lancaster  long  and  bitterly, 
and  prayed  for  his  enemies  more  earnestly  than  they 
can  ever  know. 

For  further  comment  on  this  subject  the  reader 
may  safely  turn  to  the  words  of  Dr.  D.  Y.  Heisler, 
who  passed  through  what  he  terms  something  of 
the  same  "  painful  and  yet  most  blessed  experi- 
ence :" 

"The  old  congregation,  after  a  painful  conflict  of 
years,  effected  a  division — one  part,  the  English  por- 
tion, constituting  St.  Paul's  Church,  while  the  other 
part,  who  desired  services  in  both  languages,  was  or- 
ganized into  the  First  Church,  to  which  Dr.  Harbaugk 
was  called  to  minister,  from  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  in  1850. 
The  fact  of  a  long  conflict  having  been  passed  through 
by  the  congregation — a  conflict  of  languages — intensi- 
fied and  rendered  more  fierce  by  previous  conflicts, 
arising  from  the  difference  of  religious  sentiments  pre- 
vailing among  the  members — the  so-called  old  and  new 
measure  parties — rendered  the  position  of  the  pastors 
of  both  churches  very  critical,  and  required  in  them 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  !8i 

the  utmost  prudence  and  care  in  order  to  keep  clear  of 
difficulties. 

' '  It  is  hard  for  an  outsider  to  estimate  duly  the  seri- 
ous difficulties  and  dangers  which  surrounded  the  wor- 
thy pastor  in  the  First  Church.  He  took  charge  of 
the  congregation  just  as  it  was  emerging  out  of  the 
smoke  and  dust  of  this  severe  and  protracted  conflict, 
or  series  of  conflicts  rather,  and  while  yet  in  a  state  of 
highest  excitement.  Many  persons  who  had  been  for 
years  careless  and  indifferent,  and  had  taken  little  or 
no  interest  whatever  in  the  church,  were  roused  up  by  the 
excitement  of  the  occasion  and  marshaled  into  battle 
array  with  the  rest  of  the  congregation,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  actual  division,  were  in  a  certain  way  con- 
nected with  the  congregation  as  members. 

1 '  This  entire  mass,  so  diverse  and  uncongenial  in 
its  character,  had  to  be  managed,  and  either  gradu- 
ally worked  into  a  homogeneous  mass  or  finally  elimi- 
nated as  useless,  and  even  worse  than  useless,  material, 
or  else  retained  as  a  source  of  constant  trouble.  The 
earnest  and  positive  labors  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  to  some 
extent  carried  forward  simultaneously  this  three-fold 
process  of  spiritual  assimilation,  elimination,  and  exci- 
tation of  ever-recurring  troubles  in  the  congregation. 

' '  That  there  should  be  conflicts  was  to  be  expected 
as  a  matter  of  course ;  neither  man  nor  angel  could 
have  prevented  them  ;  that  the  earnest  and  faithful 
pastor  should  be  able  at  all  to  bear  up  under  these 
manifold  trials  is  an  evidence  of  the  wonderful  powers 
of  endurance  which  he  possessed  ;  and  that  he  should 
succeed  in  spite  of  all  these  necessary  and  unavoidable 


1 82  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

trials,  to  build  up  the  congregation,  both  in  numbers 
and  in  strength  and  clearness  of  their  Scriptural  views 
and  Christian  virtues,  proves  his  extraordinary  ability 
as  a  preacher  and  pastor ;  and  finally  the  fact  that, 
during  his  pastorate,  stormy  and  perplexing,  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  substantial  churches  in  the  city  of  Lan- 
caster should  be  erected,  is  sufficient  to  stamp  his  min- 
istry in  that  congregation  as  efficient  and  successful  in 
the  extreme.  We  do  not  speak  here  at  random  ;  for 
having  been  connected  as  pastor,  with  one  portion  of 
that  congregation  during  its  fiery  trials,  we  know  from 
painful  and  yet  most  blessed  experience  what  the  state 
of  the  congregation  then  was,  and  what  extraordinary 
trials  it  involved  for  its  future  shepherd." 

As  a  young  man  both  in  Lewisburg  and  Lancas- 
ter his  uncompromising  attitude  upon  moral  ques- 
tions often  served  to  array  against  him  a  portion  of 
the  community  which  could  combine  to  place  him 
in  a  false  light.  While  in  after  life  he  never  altered 
his  views  on  any  question  of  principle,  he  modified 
his  methods  of  combating  evil  and  receded  from  the 
extremes  to  which  he  had  gone  upon  some  occa- 
sions. 

He  pursued  the  right  as  he  saw  it  without  any 
fear  of  the  consequences.  His  zeal  in  the  interest 
of  those  who  showed  any  disposition  to  accept 
Christ  never  abated  in  the  least.  The  indifference 
of  parent  to  the  religious  training  of  children  he 
deplored  as  one  of  the  withering  effects  of  the  power 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 

of  worldliness,  and  he  would  postpone  a  baptism 
and  give  the  parents  a  serious  talking  to  when  he 
found  them  ignorant  of  and  indifferent  to  the  step 
they  were  about  to  take. 

Just  as  he  was  severe  at  times  with  those  who 
were  wilfully  wicked  and  immoral,  so  he  was  gentle 
as  a  mother  in  dealing  with  those  who  were  strug- 
gling upward  from  the  effects  of  a  long  and  rebel- 
lious life  into  a  purer  condition  of  living  where 
they  could  make  an  intelligent  surrender  of  them- 
selves to  God. 

With  the  social  life  of  young  men  in  his  congre- 
gations he  was  in  perfect  sympathy.  On  semi- 
public  occasion  he  was  frequently  the  centre  of  an 
interested  group,  both  young  and  old,  and  it  is  re- 
membered of  him  by  many  who  had  the  personal 
experience,  that  his  good  humor  never  forsook  him, 
and  his  fund  of  anecdote  never  failed.  He  was  ready 
for  a  romp  with  the  children  and  had  plenty  of  little 
tricks  and  stories  with  which  to  amuse  them. 

Whenever  he  had  occasion  to  withdraw  from 
such  relation  in  life  to  the  pulpit  or  services  of  the 
church,  he  invariably  laid  aside  all  spirit  of  levity, 
and  became  clothed  with  a  solemnity  and  serious- 
ness of  manner  which  he  really  felt  deeply,  and 
which  he  imparted  to  all  who  were  in  his  presence. 
While  not  a  man  of  unusual  height,  he  was  of 
strong  muscular  build,  and  his  commanding  pres- 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

ence  strengthened  the  impression  that  he  was  of 
large  stature. 

He  made  frequent  mention  in  his  diary  of  the 
pastoral  work.  He  allotted  a  part  of  each  fore- 
noon for  visiting  families  to  urge  upon  them  their 
religious  duties,  and  he  diligently  sought  out  per- 
sons who  ought  to  attend  catechetical  lectures  and 
who  were  for  the  most  part  indifferent  to  their  priv- 
ileges. "  How  faithless  are  some  parents  in  regard 
to  their  baptized  children  !"  he  exclaims  upon  one 
occasion. 

With  all  the  demands  upon  his  time  he  did  not 
forget  the  duties  he  owed  to  his  family.  Referring 
to  a  part  of  New  Year's  day  which  he  spent  with 
them,  he  said :  "  I  spent  the  most  part  of  my  time 
to-day  with  my  family.  This  is  a  duty  which  there 
is  danger  of  neglecting.  We  are  in  danger  of  be- 
coming unsocial  in  the  multitude  of  studies  and 
cares.  Must  seek  to  guard  against  this  tendency." 
He  had  this  thought  in  mind  also  when  he  dedi- 
cated his  book  "  Birds  of  the  Bible"  to  his  wife, 
"  to  whom  the  hours  of  leisure  in  which  this  volume 
was  prepared  properly  belonged. " 

These  reflections  occurred  to  him  amid  the  press- 
ing duties  of  his  pastorate  such  as  are  mentioned  in 
his  diary  entry  of  March  14,  1852:  "  Married  a 
couple.  Preached  and  held  the  communion  in 
German.  Gave  the  communion  in  three  places  to 
sick  persons.  Attended  a  funeral.  Examined, 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


185 


baptized  and  confirmed  one  person.  Preached  and 
held  communion  in  English  in  the  evening." 

For  ten  years  and  a  half  he  had  labored  among 
the  people  of  Lancaster  until  the  first  of  October, 
1860,  when  he  resigned  his  charge.  On  Sunday 
evening,  September  Qth,  after  the  sermon,  three 
men  from  St.  John's  Church  in  Lebanon,  stepped 
forward  as  a  committee  and  presented  a  call  in  the 
name  of  that  congregation.  The  result  of  the 
pastor's  consideration  of  the  call  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  a  few  weeks  later  he  removed  to  Lebanon, 
Pa. ,  and  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the  newly  organ- 
ized congregation  of  St.  John's  Church. 

Synod  was  in  session  at  the  time  of  his  arrival 
in  Lebanon,  and  he  was  installed  by  a  committee 
of  synod,  October  18,  1860,  as  pastor  of  St.  John's 
Reformed  Church,  Lebanon.  The  progress  of  his 
labors  among  this  new  people  may  be  gathered  from 
his  first  anniversary  sermon  : 

"  One  year  ago  we  were  brought  together  in  the 
providence  of  God,  almost  strangers  to  one  another,  and 
the  solemn  relation  of  pastor  and  people  was  made  and 
ratified  between  us.  If  any  one  had  suggested  such  an 
event  but  a  few  weeks  before  it  took  place,  we  would 
have  set  him  down  as  a  dreaming  prophet.  Surely  it  is 
not  in  man  to  direct  his  steps  and  still  less  is  it  in  a 
minister  to  choose  his  charges  !  It  is  due  to  the  con- 
gregation by  whose  kindness  and  consideration  this 
first  year  of  my  ministry  has  been  made  pleasant,  to  say 


!86  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

that  I  have  had  no  reason  for  a  moment  to  regret  the 
change  which  brought  me  into  this  interesting  and  hope- 
ful field  of  labor.  Whatever  has  been  defective  in  my 
ministry  has  been  charitably  endured  by  you  ;  and  I 
have  this  confidence  of  faith,  that  the  blood  which 
washes  away  all  sin  will  also  atone  for  the  faults  and 
follies  which  attach  to  the  ministry  committed  to  me. 

' '  One  year  ago  this  beautiful  church  edifice  was  the 
centre  of  a  singular  cluster  of  anomalies.  Here  was  a 
church  building  without  a  church — a  consistory  with- 
out a  congregation — a  pastor  to  be  installed  without 
any  members  to  be  installed  over — pews  without  occu- 
pants— a  choir  gallery  without  choir  or  instruments — a 
Sunday-school  room  without  teachers  or  children — book 
cases  without  books.  In  short  the  entire  shell  of  a 
home  without  a  family. 

"It  was  evident,  however,  that  there  were  earnest 
and  anxious  hearts  looking  towards  this  spot,  to  whom 
it  was  daily  growing  more  sacred,  and  who  had  made 
up  their  minds  that  what  was  not  yet,  by  the  grace  of 
God  should  shortly  be.  When  the  pastor  asked  for 
members  to  be  installed  over,  names  were  handed  in. 
When  the  bell  rang,  people  came.  When  the  empty 
pews  asked  for  occupants,  families  gathered  in.  When 
the  hymns  were  announced,  choral  sounds  greeted  the 
ear  and  cheered  the  heart.  When  the  doors  of  the 
Sunday-school  were  thrown  open,  there  was  heard  the 
pleasant  noise  of  little  feet ;  and  when  the  doleful 
empty  shelves  of  the  library  cases  were  looked  into,  it 
was  said  'let  there  be  books,'  and  books  came. 

"  Without  commotion  and  without  restraint,  by  some 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  jgy 

mysterious  law  of  attraction,  everything  took  its  place 
and  began  to  move  in  its  order,  '  while  in  stillness  thus 
our  little  Zion  rose.' 

"  What  has  been  accomplished  during  this  first  year 
of  our  existence  can  of  course  only  be  fully  known  in 
that  great  time  of  harvest  unto  which  all  our  earthly 
labors  continually  grow.  Yet  in  some  degree  we  may 
judge  of  permanent  results  from  indications  of  present 
progress  and  success.  The  first  and  most  outward  data 
are  furnished  by  our  statistics.  These  we  shall  first 
present. 

1 '  This  congregation  was  organized  one  year  ago- 
(October,  1860)  with  6 1  adult  members.  To  these  have 
been  added  by  confirmation  7,  by  certificate  33,  making 
the  whole  number  added  40 

' '  There  is,  however,  something  higher  and  better 
than  statistics  ;  the  spirit  and  life  of  the  congregation 
which  has  made  these  statistics  what  they  are.  Fully 
104  sermons  and  52  shorter  week-day  lectures  have 
been  delivered  ;  for  if  there  have  been  some  omissions 
of  regular  services,  these  have  been  more  than  made  up 
by  the  extra  services  on  holy  days  and  in  connection 
with  the  communion  occasions. 

' '  Our  faith  in  the  divine  character  of  the  teaching 
office  in  the  church  does  not  allow  us  to  fear  that  the 
word  might  have  returned  void. 

"Rather  we  must  believe  that  the  entrance  of  the 
word  has  given  light ;  and  that  many  have  been  built 
up  and  confirmed  in  their  faith. 

' '  No  credit  is  due  to  us  if  these  discourses  have  not 
been  harping  on  favorite  strings,  but  have  carried  us 


!88  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

over  the  general  ground  of  faith  and  practice  ;  because 
our  course  has  been  marked  out  for  us  by  the  excellent 
arrangement  of  the  church-year,  so  that  it  was  not  law- 
ful for  us  to  pleasure  at  will  on  easy  or  popular  topics, 
but  we  were  under  a  wholesome  discipline  which  re- 
quired us,  as  each  Sunday  directed,  to  give  a  portion 
of  all  the  meat  in  due  season.  Thus  it  has  been  almost 
impossible  for  us  to  overlook  or  omit  any  doctrine,  any 
duty,  any  privilege,  any  virtue,  any  grace,  for  each 
one  confronted  us  at  some  time  or  other  in  the  Lessons 
of  the  day.  If  this  course  has  in  any  measure  brought 
before  us  the  whole  truth,  round  and  symmetrical,  we 
are  indebted  to  the  order  of  the  church  year  for  it. 
For  this  is  as  good  a  preventive  of  idleness  in  ministers, 
as  it  is  a  terror  to  lop-sided  and  one  idea  Christians." 

The  anniversary  sermon,  from  which  the  forego- 
ing extracts  are  taken,  further  takes  up  the  review 
of  Sunday-school  work  of  the  year,  and  then  drifts 
into  an  historical  view  of  the  church  year,  and  the 
use  of  the  liturgy  in  the  Reformed  Church.  Dr. 
Harbaugh  experienced  no  difficulty  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  liturgy  and  observance  of  the  church 
year  at  Lebanon.  He  congratulated  the  congrega- 
tion upon  the  restoration  to  them  of  their  part  in 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

' '  You  have  claimed  your  right  of  being  active  wor- 
shipers, and  not  silent  spectators  merely.  .  .  .  You 
claim,  with  the  meditations  of  your  heart,  also  to  offer 
up  the  words  of  your  lips.  When  God  said  by  the 


IN  THE  MINISTRY. 


189 


mouth  of  Solomon,  c  Let  all  the  people  say,  amen  !'  he 
gave  to  the  people  that  response  of  faith,  and  that  seal 
of  prayer.  Who  shall  take  it  from  them  ?  For  this, 
too,  I  claim  no  credit.  You  by  your  own  wish  and  de- 
cision, asked  it.  Before  I  was  installed  as  your  pastor 
you  asked  it ;  I  only  acquiesced  in  your  decision,  but  I 
did  it  from  long  aud  full  conviction  and  with  all  my 
heart.  And  the  more  heartily  and  devoutly  you  re- 
spond to  our  beautiful  and  solemn  prayers,  the  more  I 
shall  commend  you  for  it." 

As  the  children  are  an  important  part  of  the 
church,  the  Sunday-school  is  an  important  part  of 
the  congregation.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  there 
were  mustered  87  officers,  teachers  and  scholars  ; 
they  had  not  a  single  book,  not  a  Bible  nor  a  New 
Testament.  At  the  end  of  the  year  they  numbered 
in  all  117  members,  had  all  the  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments they  needed,  catechisms  for  each  scholar, 
and  a  monthly  paper  to  give  to  each  one  in  the 
school  room.  They  had  431  instructive  and  inter- 
esting books,  u  have  become  publishers  of  a  Hymn 
Book  of  our  own,  and  our  treasury  is  still  in  funds." 

The  two  years  that  followed,  and  that  terminated 
his  labors  as  a  pastor  of  any  particular  flock,  were 
busy  ones  for  the  minister  of  St.  John's.  Civil 
strife  between  North  and  South  was  raging  furi- 
ously and  the  excitement  of  the  times  was  bearing 
heavily  against  the  progress  of  his  work.  Dr.  Har- 
baugh  had  voted  for  Fremont ;  he  voted  for  Andrew 


190 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


Curtin  for  Governor,  and  for  Lincoln,  and  he  was 
unwavering  in  his  allegiance  to  the  government 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war.  He 
seriously  considered  accepting  a  chaplaincy  in  a 
Pennsylvania  regiment,  but  was  warmly  and  effec- 
tively persuaded  by  many  of  his  friends  that  his 
best  services  to  church  and  state  could  be  rendered 
at  home.  That  his  proper  place  was  at  home  is 
attested  in  more  than  one  instance — and  especially 
does  it  appear  in  the  fact  that  the  United  States 
Christian  Commission  applied  for  and  published 
his  tract  or  address  on  the  u  Religious  Character  of 
Washington."  In  sending  this  address  out  among 
the  soldiers,  the  commission  used  these  words  : 

4 '  Soldiers,  read  and  study  the  religious  character  of 
Washington  as  presented  in  the  following  pages,  and 
while  you  read  and  study,  and  endeavor  to  learn  how 
to  serve  your  country  to  the  best  of  your  abilities,  re- 
member the  motto,  '  In  God  we  Trust.'  " 

The  pastor  of  St.  John's  went  to  Harrisburg  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1 86 1,  and  heard  Mr.  Lincoln  speak  on 
the  occasion  of  his  stop  there  during  the  memorable 
trip  from  Springfield  to  Washington.  He  records 
that  he  was  well  pleased  with  the  honest  face  and 
judicious  words  of  the  president-elect. 

He  was  much  depressed  when  in  December,  1862, 
Dr.  Schaff,  who  had  become  his  intimate  friend, 
went  to  Andover  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures — he 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  191 

bad  a  presentiment  if  not  a  conviction  that  Dr. 
Schaff  was  lost  to  the  Reformed  Church.  But  a  few 
months  later  he  had  a  very  cheering  letter  from  his 
friend  in  which  he  spoke  of  being  well  pleased  with 
Andover,  but  adds :  "  Nevertheless,  I  see  no  occa- 
sion for  changing  my  views  on  Puritanism  in  the 
least.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  one  of  the  strongest 
arguments  for  our  theological  position  that  the  de- 
fects of  the  system  are  beginning  to  be  felt  by  its 
best  and  most  earnest  minds.  There  is  plenty  of 
light  in  New  England  but  not  enough  heat.  There 
is  great  need  for  the  infusion  of  the  historic,  the 
mystic,  the  aesthetic  and  the  churchly  element.  I 
spent  a  most  pleasant  evening  with  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Stowe  and  was  surprised  to  find  how  far  they  admit 
this  very  thing.  Their  judgment,  or  feeling  rather, 
is  worth  the  more  as  they  have  gone  to  the  very 
extreme  of  independency." 

Dr.  Schaff  further  makes  a  very  pleasant  personal 
suggestion  which,  if  it  had  been  adopted  at  the 
time,  might  have  been  the  means  of  preserving  Dr. 
Harbaugh's  life  for  further  years  of  usefulness.  He 
says  :  "I  thought  of  you  with  painful  sympathy 
every  day  since  I  heard  of  your  unexpected  afflic- 
tion, and  the  thought  struck  me  whether  this  per- 
haps would  not  be  a  fit  opportunity  for  you  to  pay 
a  flying  visit  to  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  and 
the  universities  of  Germany.  You  may  still  be 
back  by  Christmas,  if  necessary.  You  could  see 


I92  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Lange  in  Bonn,  Hundeshagen  in  Heidelberg, 
Kersohner  in  Tubingen  and  a  host  of  interesting 
men  in  Wurtemberg  and  Prussia.  I  will  give  you 
the  best  of  references.  Think  of  this  suggestion 
and  let  me  know  when  you  get  here." 

Many  of  his  students  and  old  friends  love  to  re- 
member Dr.  SchafF  as  one  who  in  the  depths  of  his 
heart  never  really  did  leave  the  Reformed  Church. 
He  was  present  at  the  General  Synod  held  in  Read- 
ing, Pa.,  in  May,  1893,  only  a  few  months  before 
his  death,  and  it  proved  to  be  his  farewell  meeting 
with  his  Reformed  brethren.  At  that  time,  refer- 
ring to  the  Briggs  heresy  trial  then  pending,  he 
said,  u  If  they  turn  us  out  I  will  come  right  back 
to  you."  And  in  conversation  with  one  of  his 
friends  about  early  times,  he  remarked  :  "Die  alte 
Liebe  ist  doch  die  beste." 

The  characters  of  Nevin,  SchafF,  and  other  men 
of  the  Mercersburg  movement  are  not  easily  sus- 
ceptible of  comparison.  In  personality  they  dif- 
fered widely.  In  their  habits  of  work  and  thought 
they  were  far  apart.  Nevin  was  a  teacher  of  teach- 
ers ;  Harbaugh  was  peculiarly  a  teacher  of  the 
people.  SchafF  and  Nevin  were  to  the  church  what 
an  upright  man  should  be  in  the  national  senate. 
Harbaugh  was  a  commoner.  Just  as  the  ideal  sen- 
ator concerns  himself  with  the  great  questions  of 
state  and  thereby  reflects  back  to  the  people  a  more 
perfect  form  of  government,  so  Nevin  championed 


IN  THE  MINISTRY.  !93 

the  cause  of  Christ  on  the  floor  of  synod.  Har- 
baugh  came  forth  directly  from  the  hearts  of  the 
people  and  brought  their  needs  and  interest  up  with 
him.  The  influence  of  great  theologians  tends 
from  the  seat  of  deliberative  bodies  back  to  those 
who  created  them  ;  the  influence  of  Harbaugh's 
life  and  teachings,  on  the  contrary,  originated  in 
the  homes  and  hearts  of  his  people,  and  forged  its 
way  to  centres  that  were  even  beyond  the  confines 
of  his  own  branch  of  the  church.  But  the  attri- 
butes that  were  predominant  in  either  of  these 
fathers  of  the  church,  were  in  a  large  measure 
common  to  all,  and  in  their  personal  lives  they  were 
devoted  and  affectionate  friends. 


VI.  THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 

TT  would  be  fortunate  perhaps  if  the  limit  of 
this  biographical  sketch  could  be  so  extended 
as  to  admit  of  more  liberal  quotation  and  intelli- 
gent review  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  literary  productions. 
This  is  especially  true  of  that  portion  of  his  work 
which  is  now  hidden  in  the  volumes  of  the  Guar- 
dian, which  he  edited  from  its  birth  in  1850  until 
1866,  and  the  Mercersburg  Review,  to  which  he 
contributed  frequently  and  of  which  he  was  the 
editor  a  part  of  the  time. 

Such  an  undertaking,  however,  was  not  contem- 
plated in  the  original  plan  of  this  volume,  and  as 
the  work  has  progressed  its  development  does  not 
seem  to  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  make  any  ex- 
tended inquiry  into  the  learned  writings  of  Dr. 
Harbaugh  a  fitting  part.  While  an  effort  has  been 
made  to  present  a  view  of  his  life  partly  through 
his  literary  work,  yet  this  part  of  the  field  has  been 
explored  in  much  the  same  way  as  a  cautious  en- 
gineman  with  hand  upon  the  throttle,  and  pilot  by 
his  side,  approaches  the  curves  and  grades  of  an 
unfamiliar  branch  of  the  road.  The  learned  fathers 
of  the  church  who  are  still  with  us  may  be  amused 
at  the  boyish  pride  that  has  here  and  there  cropped 
out,  and  may  readily  excuse  the  impulsive  expres- 


THK  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  195 

sions  of  a  son  upon  the  life  of  his  sainted  father  ; 
but  they  would  be  grieved,  and  justly  so,  at  the 
result  of  an  untutored  and  spiritless  digression  into 
the  sacred  domain  of  Christological  Theology. 

If  the  tenderest  theme  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  whole 
life  were  capable  of  expression  in  one  word,  it 
would  be  Home.  In  fond  recollection,  it  was  the 
home  of  his  childhood,  that  found  expression  in 
"Heemweh,"  and  other  poems  both  in  English 
and  German,  as  well  as  in  almost  every  number  of 
the  Guardian,  during  the  early  years  of  his  min- 
istry. In  present  enjoyment  and  affection,  it  was 
the  family  home — the  sympathy  and  companion- 
ship of  the  wife  of  his  mature  years  whom  he 
called  u  the  home  of  his  heart." 

In  his  deepest  contemplation  and  spiritual  long- 
ings, it  was  the  heavenly  home  of  which  he  said  at 
the  conclusion  of  his  first  published  volume, "The 
Sainted  Dead:" 

"  Here  I  lay  down  my  pen,  but  here  do  I  not  end  my 
meditations  on  the  heavenly  land.  My  thoughts,  and 
feelings,  and  hopes  crowd  onward  still.  Along  the  misty 
Jordan,  which  bounds  the  future  side  of  this  mortal 
life,  I  continue  to  walk  up  and  down,  crowding  upon  its 
awful  confines,  and  looking  anxiously  across,  till  the 
fog  breaks. ' ' 

Then  from  the  German  of  Stilling  he  quotes  : 


I96  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

' '  Blessed  are  they  that  are  homesick,  for  they  shall 
come  to  their  father's  house." 

The  scenes  on  which  his  mind  had  dwelt — the 
scenery  upon  which  his  eyes  had  rested  in  child- 
hood's years  when  mind  and  affections  were  peculi- 
arly plastic  and  growing,  had  transferred  their 
images  into  the  eye  and  spirit,  leaving  there  a  bent 
and  bias  which  remained  a  part  of  his  inmost  self. 
Thus  the  deep  memory  of  childhood  brought  its 
scenes  to  his  spirit  with  all  their  old  immediate- 
ness,  and  the  riper  life  became  their  interpreter  ;  in 
these  resurrections  of  memory  lay  the  power  of 
his  mature  life  to  impress  others  ;  here  lay  the 
secret  of  his  wisdom  to  teach,  and  his  mystic  power 
to  charm. 

To  point  out  just  when  Dr.  Harbaugh's  literary 
life  began  would  be  impossible.  His  habit  of  jot- 
ting down  his  thoughts  started  almost  with  the  first 
efforts  of  the  school-boy  to  write  English  words  ; 
his  productions  while  at  school  in  Ohio  have  been 
briefly  referred  to  elsewhere  in  these  pages.  Upon 
entering  the  ministry  at  Lewisburg  he  began  to  con- 
tribute articles  to  the  Reformed  Church  Messenger. 
He  prepared  the  carriers'  addresses  for  the  local 
papers  at  L,ewisburg,  Lancaster,  and  Lebanon  almost 
every  year  of  his  pastorate  in  each  place. 

The  first  published  volume,  u  The  Sainted  Dead," 
grew  out  of  a  series  of  sermons  which  he  delivered 


KV///. 


T 


(7 


(yLtsfr  0Lt*~*ri^    yd    L 


TWO  STANZAS  OF       DAS  ALT  SCHUL  HAUS  '  '    IN  FAC-SIMILB. 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  I9y 


at  Lewisburg  as  early  as  1845,  an^  after  several 
years  meditation  on  the  subject,  he  published  the 
work  in  1848.  In  gathering  information  on  this 
interesting  subject  he  was  surprised  to  find  that  so 
little  had  been  written  directly  on  it.  He  found 
also  that,  while  his  own  mind  had  been  employed 
on  the  subject,  there  were  many  to  whom  it  had 
been  a  subject  of  like  interest,  and  who  were  eager 
to  read  what  professed  to  throw  light  on  it. 

When  he  had  finished  the  work  it  was  laid  unre- 
servedly before  his  friend  and  teacher,  Dr.  John  W. 
Nevin,  with  the  request  that  he  exercise  critical 
censorship  on  the  work  without  mercy.  In  the 
July  number  of  the  Mercersburg  Review  (1849) 
Dr.  Nevin  reviewed  the  book  and  incidentally  gave 
his  impressions  of  the  personality  of  the  author, 
who  was  then  thirty-one  years  old,  and  had  been 
out  of  the  seminary  only  five  years  : 

'  '  A  very  popularly  written  volume  on  a  popular  and 
interesting  theme,  which  needs  only  to  be  known  gen- 
erally, we  think,  to  find  many  readers,  and  which, 
when  it  is  seriously  read,  can  hardly  fail  to  leave  behind 
it  a  salutary  religious  impression.  The  work  of  course 
is  more  practical  than  philosophical,  designed  to  serve 
the  purposes  of  believing  piety  rather  than  to  minister 
food  for  curious  speculation.  At  the  same  time  the 
writer  shows  himself  to  be  possessed  of  a  good  deal 
more  learning,  and  philosophy  too,  than  we  meet  with 
in  many  who  put  forth  much  larger  pretensions  in  this 


I98  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

form.     Mr.  Harbaugh  is  constitutionally  a  thinker,  and 
not  a  mere  dull  retailer  of  other  men's  thoughts. 

' '  The  habits  of  the  preacher  and  the  pastor,  both 
vocations  in  which  he  is  known  to  excel,  are  not  allowed 
with  him  to  mar  the  sympathies  and  affinities  of  the 
scholar  ;  and  the  present  production,  in  this  view,  is 
certainly  very  creditable  to  his  literary  character  and 
powers,  and  carries  in  it  also  good  augury  for  the  time 
to  come.  The  author  has  a  certain  advantage  for  the 
popular  discussion  of  the  subject  he  has  taken  in  hand, 
in  his  temperament  and  age.  The  first  includes  a 
broad  dash  of  mysticism  ;  to  the  second  he  is  indebted 
for  an  exuberance  of  imagination,  which  riper  age  will 
be  apt  considerably  to  tame,  both  qualifications  well 
suited  to  help  the  mind  forward,  in  such  an  excursion 
as  is  here  made  over  the  confines  of  time  and  sense, 
into  the  world  of  unseen  mystery  that  lies  beyond. 
There  is  nothing  dark,  however,  nor  particularly  tran- 
scendental in  the  style  of  the  work.  Its  poetry  is  not 
prose  run  mad,  or  mounted  on  stilts  into  the  region  of 
the  clouds,  but  clear,  sensible  thought  and  speech 
which  as  a  general  thing  all  sorts  of  readers  may  readily 
enough  comprehend.  Mr.  Harbaugh  uses  a  pen  which 
is  at  once  both  fluent  and  correct." 

After  discussing  the  work  on  its  theological  side 
somewhat  at  length,  Dr.  Nevin  closes  with  these 
words  : 

"  On  the  subject  of  the  Church,  as  we  have  before 
said,  as  well  as  in  its  whole  Christological  theory,  the 
little  volume  before  us  is  far  enough  removed  from  the 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  199 

abstract  spiritualism  which  has  become  so  common  in 
our  modern  divinity.  One  great  object  of  the  writer 
seems  to  be  indeed  to  expel  such  spirituality  of  the 
mere  intellect  from  our  minds,  and  to  make  us  feel  that 
the  mystery  of  the  new  life,  as  it  is  unfolded  to  us  in 
Christ,  is  no  less  real  and  concrete  and  near  to  the 
world  as  it  now  stands,  than  are  the  palpable  existences 
that  surrounded  us  in  the  sphere  of  sense." 

Dr.  Nevin  was  not  mistaken  in  his  prediction 
that  the  book  would  be  widely  read.  The  first  edi- 
tion was  soon  exhausted  and  the  second  followed  it, 
enriched  at  various  points,  and  considerably  enlarged 
by  additional  arguments,  illustrations,  and  practical 
reflections,  the  fruit  of  continued  attention  to  the 
subject. 

The  second  volume,  "  Heavenly  Recognition" 
(1851),  is  an  earnest  and  scriptural  inquiry  into  the 
question,  will  we  know  our  friends  in  Heaven  ?  In 
style  and  command  of  language  there  is  a  notice- 
able improvement  over  the  first  volume  and  the 
reader  is  led  to  feel  that  the  arguments  advanced 
are  sound  and  correct,  yet,  for  those  who  are  soon 
convinced,  there  is  still  a  pleasure  in  following  the 
author  through  all  his  meditations  on  this  absorb- 
ing subject.  This  volume,  like  the  first,  was  well 
received  and  ran  through  many  editions. 

"The  Heavenly  Home,"  which  completed  the 
trilogy  on  the  future  life,  was  published  in  1853. 
As  to  its  aim  and  purpose,  it  is  well  introduced  in 


200  WFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

the  preface  to  the  work  itself.  It  concluded  what 
the  author  had  designed  to  contribute  to  this  inter- 
esting department  of  pious  inquiry — the  fruits  of 
seven  years'  contemplation  of  the  subject.  These 
themes  were  not  treated  without  a  special  and  defi- 
nite aim,  even  beyond  the  general  desire  of  pro- 
moting the  interests  of  individual  piety  and  com- 
fort. While  this  had  been  kept  steadily  in  view, 
it  was  in  connection  with  what  the  author  consid- 
ered the  wider  and  deeper  wants  of  the  age.  He 
saw  in  the  piety  of  the  age  a  drifting  towards  mere 
naturalism.  The  power  of  the  world  to  come,  he 
thought,  did  not  enter  sufficiently  into  our  piety. 
Men  were  not  conscious,  as  they  should  be,  of  their 
nearness  to  unseen,  supernatural,  and  eternal  reali- 
ties. Hence  instead  of  reverence,  there  was  bold- 
ness ;  instead  of  humility,  presumption  ;  instead 
of  quietude  of  spirit,  there  was  restlessness  ;  instead 
of  faith,  individual  notions  and  opinions  ,  instead  of 
love  and  hope,  there  were  distractions  and  fitful 
spasms  of  desire  ;  and  instead  of  the  life  of  a  higher 
world,  dwelling  in  us  by  grace,  and  bearing  us  for- 
ward to  glory,  we  have  become  the  unhappy  sub- 
jects of  mere  influences. 

"  May  we  not  ask,"  says  the  author,  "  whether 
the  very  progress  of  modern  natural  science,  which  is 
the  cause  of  all  our  earthly  conveniences,  and  which 
if  rightly  used  leads  us  towards  God,  has  not  by  a 
prostitution  to  mere  carnal  ends,  had  a  tendency  to 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  20 1 

cause  men  to  deify  human  reason,  to  enthrone  in- 
tellect, to  over- rate  man's  natural  powers,  to  flatter 
his  pride,  to  seek  the  satisfaction  of  mere  temporal 
wants,  and  thus  practically  to  forget  the  momen- 
tous interests  and  claims  of  a  future  and  higher 
world  ?  Behold  for  a  moment  the  busy  whirl  of 
earth,  the  rush  and  rivalry  of  the  multitudes  in 
pursuit  of  the  mere  interests  of  time,  even  to  the 
secularization  of  holy  seasons  and  places,  and  then 
say  whether  the  subduing  powers  of  another  life 
are  felt  as  they  should  be." 

In  the  treatment  of  the  whole  subject  of  the 
future  state,  the  author  sought  to  avoid  two  ex- 
tremes. On  the  one  hand,  he  endeavored  to  shun 
the  vague,  hortatory  cantation,  which  he  found  so 
common  in  a  certain  class  of  practical  treatises,  and 
which,  however  pleasant  it  might  be  to  a  certain 
class  of  Christians,  he  did  not  consider  either  profit- 
able or  satisfactory  to  earnest  and  inquiring  minds. 

Again,  with  equal  diligence,  he  sought  to  avoid 
wild  and  bold  speculations,  which,  while  they  de- 
light the  itching  ear  of  the  curious,  have  in  them 
too  much  of  the  wisdom  of  this  world  to  serve  the 
purposes  of  true  piety,  and  have,  to  reverent  minds 
at  least,  the  appearance  of  being  profane.  He 
humbly  sought  to  entwine  in  one,  the  authority  of 
revelation,  the  definiteness  of  science,  and  the  ten- 
derness of  devotion. 


202  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

How  well  he  succeeded  in  this  devout  purpose,  is 
attested  by  the  thousands  of  readers  who  have 
sought  consolation  in  contemplation  of  the  future 
life,  in  their  affliction  and  distress. 

' '  There  reposes  deep  in  the  human  spirit  the  idea  of 
the  perfect.  Amid  the  sense  of  our  own  imperfections 
and  the  sight  of  imperfection  in  all  that  surrounds 
us,  there  is  the  deep,  intuitive  conviction  that  there 
exists  somewhere  the  infinitely  Pure,  the  infinitely 
Beautiful,  and  the  infinitely  Good.  Often  when 
the  spirit  lingers  lonely  and  meditative  among  the 
wrecks  of  earthy  hope,  and  feels  as  if  it  could  no 
more  cling  to  things  which  perish,  it  is  drawn  by  a 
sweet  attraction  made  up  of  faith,  hope,  and  love,  into 
a  far  off  silent  world  of  peace,  purity,  and  perfection. 
Beneath  our  sense  of  guilt,  beneath  those  monitions 
that  chide  us  as  wanderers,  beneath  the  confusion  and 
collision  of  sense,  of  sin  and  sorrow,  are  heard  in  soft 
'  mournfully  pleasant '  undertones  the  harmonies  of 
higher,  holier,  and  happier  realms.  There  is  at  such 
times  a  growing  weary  of  present  things,  the  things 
that  are  seen  ;  and  the  spirit  longs  after  an  outlet  from 
that  which  is  'in  part,'  and  an  outlet  into  that  com- 
munion where  '  that  which  is  in  part  shall  be  done 
away.'  " 

In  the  words  just  quoted  the  author  of  the 
u  Heavenly  Home,"  the  last  of  his  volumes  on  the 
future  state,  introduces  his  readers  to  a  pious  con- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  203 

templation  of  the  future  world,  and   the  employ- 
ments and  enjoyments  of  the  saints  in  heaven. 

In  some  of  the  positions  taken  by  the  author  in 
these  volumes,  Dr.  Nevin  did  not  fully  concur. 
While  he  warmly  commended  the  work,  he  also  took 
advantage  of  the  author's  request  that  u  he  criticize 
the  work  without  mercy,"  and  indicated  what  he 
considered  errors  from  a  theological  point  of  view. 

Indeed,  it  is  related  that  Dr.  Harbaugh  himself, 
as  Professor  of  Didactic  and  Practical  Theology  at 
Mercersburg,  made  some  statement  in  one  of  his 
lectures  which  was  not  at  all  consistent  with  his 
treatment  of  the  same  theme  in  "The  Sainted 
Dead,"  and  when  his  attention  was  called  to  it,  he 
made  reply  that  he  had  written  that  book  when  he 
was  a  boy. 

Quite  different  in  character  was  the  next  publi- 
cation from  his  pen,  though  attended  with  the  same 
diligence  in  research  and  earnestness  of  purpose. 

In  the  autumn  of  1852,  at  Lancaster,  he  preached 
a  sermon  from  the  text  (Prov.  30,  26),  u  The  conies 
are  but  a  feeble  folk,  yet  make  they  their  houses  in 
the  rocks."  This  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of 
writing  a  series  of  articles  for  the  Guardian  on  the 
animals  and  birds  of  the  Bible.  No  doubt  he 
found  that  the  whole  subject  would  take  too  wide  a 
range  for  his  purpose,  and  chose  the  birds  of  the 
Bible  as  the  more  pleasant  branch  of  the  subject. 
These  articles  appeared  in  the  Guardian  during 


2O4 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


the  year  1853-4,  and  after  being  revised  were  pub- 
lished in  1854  in  book  form. 

Piously  cultivated  and  truly  refined  minds,  he 
thought,  would  never  tire  in  the  study  of  this  beau- 
tiful portion  of  creation — the  birds.  Peculiarly  in- 
teresting to  him  were  those  birds  which  Jesus  men- 
tioned, whose  images,  natures,  and  habits  mingled 
with  the  visions  of  holy  men  of  old,  and  which  be- 
came to  them  great  words  bearing  precious  truth  to 
ages  since,  and  ages  yet  to  come.  The  author's 
endeavor  was  not  to  give  descriptions  of  dead  birds 
so  much  as  to  make  pictures  of  the  living  ones ; 
and  he  aimed  to  make  his  book  more  like  a  grove 
than  a  cabinet.  Mechanically  the  book  was  hand- 
somely printed  and  richly  illustrated  in  colors,  and 
had  a  large  circulation.  Prof.  W.  M.  Nevin,  in  his 
interesting  review  of  it,  points  it  out  especially  to 
those  who  wish  to  remember  their  friends  at  Christ- 
mas, and  speaks  of  it  as  a  book  that  u  will  not 
waste  its  sweetness  in  a  single  year,  but  continue  to 
bloom  for  many ;  one  that  will  not  soon  be  super- 
seded or  impaired,  but,  like  a  good  old  painting, 
keep  its  place  and  be  rather  improved  by  age  ;  one 
that  will  rest  comfortably  beside  even  the  Bible  or 
any  other  good  book  and  not  feel  out  of  place  ;  one 
that  will  delight  not  only  youth  and  beauty  and 
childhood  with  his  laughing  eyes,  but  be  read  with 
pleasure  also  by  manhood,  and  lighten  with  a  mellow 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  205 

smile  even  the  cheek  of  hoary  eld,  as  he  pores  over 
it  earnestly  through  his  sober  glasses." 

Then  came  "  Union  With  the  Church, "  a  small 
volume  of  127  pages,  a  plain,  practical  treatise  upon 
the  duty  and  privilege  of  becoming  members  of  the 
church.  Presuming  correctly  that  a  number  of 
well  meaning  persons  remain  out  of  the  church, 
because  the  progress  of  sectism  and  rationalism  has 
produced  a  false  public  sentiment  in  relation  to  the 
nature  of  the  church,  the  author,  in  the  first  part, 
removes  the  difficulties  which  present  themselves 
to  sincere  inquirers,  and,  in  the  second  part,  pre- 
sents a  series  of  convincing  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  immediate  union  with  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ. 

In  the  January  number  of  the  Mercersburg  Re- 
view (1851),  appeared  an  article  entitled,  "  System- 
atic Benevolence,  or  a  Plea  for  the  Lord's  Portion 
of  Our  Increase."  This  was  afterwards  published 
in  pamphlet  form  at  the  request  of  synod,  under 
the  title  of  UA  Plea  for  the  Lord's  Portion  of  the 
Christian's  Wealth." 

In  September,  1855,  Dr.  Harbaugh  came  into 
possession  of  the  Journal  of  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter 
and  examined  it  with  the  greatest  pleasure.  He  at 
once  saw  its  importance  as  a  part  of  our  early 
church  history  and  immediately  began  to  translate 
it  into  English. 


206  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Much  has  been  written,  in  recent  years,  of  Amer- 
ican history  covering  the  period  in  which  the  Rev. 
Michael  Schlatter  lived  and  labored  for  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia.  Much  ink  has  been  shed  in  the 
endeavor  to  produce  living  pictures  of  the  life  and 
times  which  led  up  to  and  through  the  American 
Revolution.  In  their  efforts  to  improve  upon  the 
early  historians  and  to  brighten  the  dry  facts  of  his- 
tory, not  a  few  writers  have  gone  to  the  other  ex- 
treme, drifting  into  senseless  absurdities. 

Prof.  John  Fiske,  whose  lectures  on  the  critical 
period  of  American  history,  and  other  works  in  the 
same  line  of  thought,  have  given  him  a  well-earned 
reputation  as  an  infuser  of  life  and  spirit  into  the 
scenes  in  which  the  American  Army  of  Revolution 
and  the  Continental  Congress  had  their  struggles  to 
found  a  new  nation,  would  no  doubt  be  surprised  to 
find  that  this  same  life  and  spirit  pervades  u  The 
Life  of  Michael  Schlatter  "  a  humble  missionary,  a 
chaplain  in  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and  the  first 
superintendent  of  public  schools  in  Pennsylvania.* 

*Dr.  J.  H.  Dubbs  gives  the  following  interesting  facts  in  the  life  of 
Schlatter : 

"  Schlatter  was  chaplain  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment,  4th  Battalion, 
I757~1759-  Chaplain  of  the  2nd  Battalion  of  Bouquet's  army  on  the  expe- 
dition to  Pittsburg,  1764.  Took  the  side  of  the  patriots  in  the  Revolution  ; 
two  of  his  sons  were  in  Washington's  army.  He  was  imprisoned  on  the 
grounds  that  he  was  still  an  officer  of  the  Royal  army,  but  refused  to  obey 
orders.  His  house  was  plundered.  I  can  find  no  proof  of  Harbaugh's 
assertion  that  he  was  a  chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary  army." 

See  also  "  The  German  Soldier  in  the  Wars  of  the  United  States,"  by  J. 
G.  Rosengarten,  pp.  25-27. 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  207 

The  life  of  Michael  Schlatter  was  produced  amid 
the  busy  years  of  the  Lancaster  pastorate.  In  the 
course  of  its  preparation  the  author  unfolded  a  gen- 
eral plan  for  what  he  then  termed  u  Lives  of  the 
Fathers,''  and  he  had  already  gathered  much  mate- 
rial for  this  object.  He  found  to  his  great  regret 
that  the  work  had  been  too  long  neglected,  and 
that  many  interesting  facts  were  growing  into  dim 
tradition  in  reference  to  the  early  ministers  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  He  gives  forcible  expression  to 
this  thought  in  the  introduction  to  the  "  Life  of 
Michael  Schlatter :" 

' '  For  a  time  the  sayings  and  doings  of  our  ancestors 
may  be  left  to  the  preservation  of  a  grateful  remem- 
brance, and  to  the  unrecorded  traditions  which  parents 
hand  down  to  their  children.  But  such  traditions  soon 
grow  dim  and  uncertain,  and  at  last  vanish  away.  As 
the  setting  sun  leaves  first  a  glory,  then  a  twilight, 
and  at  last  darkness  :  so  the  deeds  of  the  past  as  they 
sink  beyond  our  personal  recollection,  are  first  bright, 
then  dim,  and  then  gone  ! — and  too  late  we  mourn  that 
we  have  no  picture  of  the  faded  beauty.  Our  parents 
relate  to  us  stories  of  the  days  of  our  grandparents ; 
but  our  grandparents  themselves  are  gone,  and  tell  us 
no  more  what  was  before  them.  This  is  our  case  as  a 
church  in  America.  The  grandparents  are  gone,  the 
fathers  are  going,  the  history  of  their  toils  and  achieve- 
ments is  beginning  to  swim  in  half  uncertain  twilight, 
and  there  is  but  barely  time  to  record  the  doings  of 
their  life's  day  before  the  oblivious  night  sets  in,  when 


2o8  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

records  and   traditions  will  no    more   recognize  one 
another. ' ' 

Michael  Schlatter  was  not  the  first  ordained  min- 
ister who  came  out  with  the  oppressed  emigrants 
from  the  Palatinate  and  found  a  home  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  neighboring  states.  He  was,  however, 
the  one  who  accomplished  most  and  made  the 
greatest  sacrifices  in  the  work  of  permanently  organ- 
izing the  infant  church  in  America.  The  work  of 
Henry  Harbaugh  is  a  faithful  and  spirited  record 
of  the  earnest  and  laborious  life,  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury of  which  was  spent  in  the  religious  interests 
of  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia.  It  was  a  life  belonging  entirely 
to  the  last  century,  including  what  may  be  called 
the  formative  period  both  in  church  and  state, 
and  extending  through  the  perils  of  our  country's 
two  tedious  wars.  The  author's  power  of  investi- 
gation into  original  sources,  and  his  accuracy  of 
detail,  coupled  with  his  ability  to  reproduce  the 
elements  of  biography  in  a  living  story,  have  led 
more  than  one  reader  to  pronounce  the  book  a 
model  of  its  kind.  It  was  offered  first  and  directly 
as  the  life  and  labors  of  Michael  Schlatter,  and  then, 
indirectly,  as  a  small  contribution  u  to  the  inward 
civil  and  religious  history  of  our  free,  peaceful,  and 
noble  state."  For  both  these  purposes,  as  well  as 
for  its  intrinsic  value,  the  book  has  been  highly 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  209 

prized  and  widely  read,  especially  among  Pennsyl- 
vanians.  Schlatter's  appeal  to  the  churches  in 
Europe,  setting  forth  the  true  condition  of  the  des- 
titute congregations  in  the  colonies,  is  well  worth 
a  careful  reading  by  any  one  who  desires  to  be  well 
informed  upon  his  own  branch  of  the  church.  So 
also  his  connection  with  the  charity  schools  ought 
to  interest  every  Pennsylvanian  who  takes  pride  in 
the  progress  of  education  in  the  commonwealth. 

u  The  Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church' '  followed 
the  life  of  Schlatter.  Two  volumes  were  completed 
and  a  greater  part  of  the  material  for  the  third  pre- 
pared. The  labor  involved  in  this  work  was  great. 
It  made  necessary  an  extensive  correspondence,  and 
no  little  traveling  about  for  the  purpose  of  consult- 
ing the  old  records.  It  has  rescued  to  the  church 
a  vast  amount  of  information  concerning  the  early 
ministers  and  their  work  during  the  time  when  the 
church  was  almost  wholly  a  missionary  field.  To 
use  the  words  of  the  author  himself : 

1 '  We  have  written  vast  numbers  of  letters — we  have 
travelled  in  pursuit  of  facts — we  have  taken  down  the 
traditions  of  the  aged,  and  compared  them  with  pre- 
served records — we  have  searched  old  files  of  news- 
papers and  pamphlets  in  the  libraries  of  Philadelphia 
and  elsewhere — we  have  examined  piles  of  old  letters 
in  English,  German,  Dutch,  and  L,atin — we  have  gone 
patiently  through  the  Coetal  and  Synodical  minutes 
and  archives,  so  far  as  they  are  still  extant,  from  1748 


2io  IvIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

down  to  the  present  time — we  have  carefully  waded 
through  a  bundle  of  documents  in  German,  Dutch,  and 
Latin,  procured  some  years  ago  from  the  ecclesiastical 
archives  of  Holland — we  have  examined,  either  per- 
sonally or  through  friends,  all  the  old  congregational 
records  throughout  the  church — we  have  rummaged  the 
old  papers  left  behind  by  many  of  the  earliest  deceased 
ministers — we  have  been  in  garrets  and  in  graveyards 
— we  have  begged  and  bought  material — in  short,  we 
have  sought  wherever  hope  of  success  invited  us,  like 
one  who  seeks  for  goodly  pearls." 

One  letter  of  inquiry,  under  date  of  May  20, 
1856,  to  Dr.  Bausman,  who  was  then  in  Germany, 
runs  as  follows : 

' '  If  you  can  incidentally,  I  wish  you  would  make 
some  inquiry  about  the  religious  condition  of  the  Men- 
nonites  in  Europe.  When  you  get  to  Berlin,  please 
inquire  also,  if  you  do  not  forget  it,  about  Rev.  John 
C.  Stahlschmidt,  who  came  to  this  country  about  1770 
and  returned  about  1790,  and  was  about  Berlin.  He 
was  a  pietist.  I  once  saw  a  letter  he  wrote  to  one  of 
our  old  ministers,  I  think  in  1793,  or  perhaps  later. 
I  would  like  to  know  his  last  years.  I  have  a  history 
of  him  up  to  the  time  he  returned  to  Kurope.  I  won- 
der whether  the  Dominies  in  the  Rhine  country  know 
anything  yet  of  the  pastors  who  came  from  that 
country  here — Hendel,  Herman,  etc." 

The  Rev.  D.  Y.  Heisler,  D.D.,  continued  this 
work  after  Dr.  Harbaugh's  death,  and  among  his 
contributions  was  a  brief  but  touching  biography 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  2 1 1 

of  Henry  Harbaugh,  his  friend  and  co-worker. 
Dr.  Heisler's  work,  with  that  of  his  successor, 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  M.  Detrick,  brought  the  "Lives  of 
the  Fathers''  down  to  the  time  when  the  material 
desired  could  be  more  readily  and  accurately 
obtained. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  finished  the  Lancastrian  decade 
with  the  <l  Golden  Censer,"  a  book  of  devotion  for 
the  young,  his  series  of  sermons  preached  on  the 
life  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  revised  and  published  under 
the  title  "  The  True  Glory  of  Woman,"  and  his 
volume  of  English  poems. 

With  his  pastoral  work,  his  Guardian,  his  labors 
attendant  upon  the  deliberations  of  the  Liturgical 
Committee,  and  the  many  other  special  calls  upon 
his  time  all  considered,  it  was  certainly  a  busy  ten 
years. 

Encouraged  by  Professor  Nevin  and  others,  and 
also  by  the  fact  that  his  publisher  preferred  the 
poems  to  another  manuscript  which  had  been  sub- 
mitted as  an  alternative,  he  edited  and  prepared  his 
English  poems  for  publication.  "The  Mystic 
Weaver"  and  " Through  Death  to  Life,"  are  two 
of  the  poems  which  have  been  widely  published 
and  read  both  in  Europe  and  America.  They  have 
been  recited  at  times  on  public  occasions  by  persons 
who  did  not  know  who  the  author  was.  The  little 
u  Child's  Christmas  Hymn"  has  been  sung  to  the 
children  of  many  firesides.  Two  hymns  contained 


212  UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

in  the  collection  are  also  in  the  Church  Hymn 
Book,  but  the  compilers  overlooked  the  authorship, 
and  they  were  not  accredited  to  Dr.  Harbaugh  until 
the  last  revised  hymnal  was  published.  They  are  : 

"Jesus  my  Shepherd,  let  me  share 
Thy  guiding  hand,  Thy  tender  care  ;" 

Also  that  more  familiar  one,  "  The  Hiding  Place" — 

"Jesus  to  Thy  cross  I  hasten, 
In  all  weariness  my  home." 

His  well-known  hymn,  "Jesus,  I  live  to  Thee," 
has  taken  its  place  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal, 
Methodist,  Baptist,  and  Presbyterian  hymnals,  and 
in  a  number  of  other  collections.  It  has  also  re- 
cently been  placed  by  Dr.  Irvine  in  the  College 
chapel  at  Mercersburg,  upon  a  tablet  in  brass  let- 
ters. The  translation  of  it  into  German  by  the 
Rev.  N.  Z.  Snyder  has  been  highly  spoken  of,  be- 
ginning : 

"Jesu,  ich  lebe  Dir, 
Mein  liebster  Freund  bist  Du." 

The  epilogue  written  for  the  anniversary  of  the 
Diagnothian  Literary  Society  of  Marshall  College, 
July  2,  1847,  is  to  be  found  in  this  collection  of 
English  poems.  Dr.  W.  M.  Nevin,  in  his  inimita- 
ble way,  has  thus  spoken  of  them  : 

"We  were  apprehensive,"  he  commences,  "that 
it  would  turn  out  in  this  way.  A  certain  rich  vein 
of  feeling  and  easy  flow  of  imagination  had  we 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


213 


long  ago  observed  in  the  prose  writings  of  our 
author,  which  we  feared  in  the  end  would  burst 
forth  into  poetry.  A  disposition  in  him  for  some 
time  had  we  remarked,  with  some  concern,  to  in- 
troduce into  his  essays  and  other  writings,  as  if 
merely  to  illustrate  or  embellish  some  of  his 
thoughts,  choice  passages  taken  from  the  best  old 
English  and  German  poets,  which,  however,  showed 
too  plainly  what  was  the  natural  bent  of  his  mind, 
and  with  what  sort  of  writings  he  was  pleased. 
Nay,  in  the  Guardian,  from  its  first  appearance, 
little  poetical  pieces  of  his  own  had  we  been  in  the 
habit  of  observing  every  month,  as  it  came  out, 
few  at  first  and  far  between,  indeed,  and,  as  we 
thought,  inserted  merely  for  filling  up  some  odd 
space ;  but,  at  length,  we  saw  them  swelling  out 
into  whole  poems,  extending  sometimes  over  seve- 
ral pages.  We  were  not  taken  aback  then,  by  this, 
final  enunciation.  We  had  seen  the  determined 
tendency  long  before.  We  knew  that  this  would 
be  the  end  of  it." 

Dr.  Schaff  confessed  to  a  similar  want  of  surprise. 
"  The  appearance  of  a  volume  of  poems  by  Rev.  EL 
Harbaugh,"  he  says,  "  was  to  us  simply  a  question 
of  time.  It  had  to  come  sooner  or  later  by  an  un- 
avoidable necessity.  The  bird  will  sing  and  the 
poet  will  write  poems,  and  if  he  finds  a  publisher 
he  will  publish  also,  or  others  will  publish  him. 
We  have  before  us  genuine  lyric  effusions,  some  of 
14 


214 


LIFE  OP  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


them  of  more  than  ordinary  beauty  and  merit,  all 
animated  by  a  lovely  spirit,  which  associates  beauty 
with  truth  and  goodness  and.  makes  this  triad  the 
worshiping  handmaid  of  religion." 

THROUGH  DEATH  TO  LIFE. 


Have  you  heard  the  tale  of  the  Aloe  plant, 

Away  in  the  sunny  clime? 
By  humble  growth  of  an  hundred  years 

It  reaches  its  blooming  time  ; 
And  then  a  wonderous  bud  at  its  crown 

Breaks  out  into  thousand  flowers  : 
This  floral  queen,  in  its  blooming  seen, 

Is  the  pride  of  the  tropical  bowers. 
But  the  plant  to  the  flower  is  a  sacrifice, 
For  it  blooms  but  once,  and  in  blooming  dies. 

Have  you  further  heard  of  this  Aloe  plant, 

That  grows  in  the  sunny  clime, 
How  every  one  of  its  thousand  flowers, 

As  they  drop  in  the  blooming  time, 
Is  an  infant  plant  that  fastens  its  roots 

In  the  place  where  it  falls  on  the  ground  ; 
And  fast  as  they  drop  from  the  dying  stem, 

Grow  lively  and  lovely  around  ? 
By  dying  it  liveth  a  thousand-fold 
In  the  young  that  spring  from  the  death  of  the  old. 

Have  you  heard  the  tale  of  the  Pelican, 

The  Arabs'  Gimel  el  Bahr? 
That  lives  in  the  African  solitudes 

Where  the  birds  that  live  lonely  are  ? 
Have  you  heard  how  it  loves  its  tender  young, 

And  cares  and  toils  for  their  good  ? 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 

It  brings  them  water  from  fountains  afar, 

And  fishes  the  seas  for  their  food. 
In  famine  it  feeds  them — what  love  can  devise  ! — 
The  blood  of  its  bosom,  and  feeding  them,  dies  ! 

Have  you  heard  the  tale  they  tell  of  the  swan, 

The  snow-white  bird  of  the  lake  ? 
It  noiselessly  floats  on  the  silvery  wave, 

It  silently  sits  in  the  brake  ; 
For  it  saves  its  song  until  the  end  of  life, 

And  then  in  the  soft,  still  even, 
'Mid  the  golden  light  of  the  setting  sun, 

It  sings  as  it  soars  into  heaven  ! 
And  the  blessed  notes  fall  back  from  the  skies — 
'Tis  its  only  song,  for  in  singing  it  dies. 

Have  you  heard  these  tales — Shall  I  tell  you  one, 

A  greater  and  better  than  all  ? 
Have  you  heard  of  Him  whom  the  heavens  adore, 

Before  whom  the  hosts  of  them  fall  ? 
How  He  left  the  choirs  and  anthems  above, 

For  the  earth  in  its  wailings  and  woes, 
To  suffer  the  shame  and  the  pain  of  the  Cross, 

And  die  for  the  life  of  His  foes  ? 
O  Prince  of  the  noble  !  O  Sufferer  divine  ! 
What  sorrow  and  sacrifice  equal  to  Thine ! 

Have  you  heard  this  tale— the  best  of  them  all — 

The  tale  of  the  Holy  and  True  ? 
He  dies,  but  His  life,  in  untold  souls, 

Lives  on  in  the  world  anew. 
His  seed  prevails  and  is  filling  the  earth 

As  the  stars  fill  the  skies  above  ; 
He  taught  us  to  yield  up  the  love  of  life, 

For  the  sake  of  the  life  of  love. 
His  death  is  our  life,  His  loss  is  our  gain, 
The  joy  for  the  tear,  the  peace  for  the  pain. 


215 


216  UFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Now  hear  these  tales,  ye  weary  and  worn, 

Who  for  others  do  give  up  your  all ; 
Our  Saviour  hath  told  you  the  seed  that  would  grow, 

Into  earth's  dark  bosom  must  fall — 
Must  pass  from  the  view  and  die  away, 

And  then  will  the  fruit  appear  : 
The  grain  that  seems  lost  in  the  earth  below, 

Will  return  many  fold  in  the  ear. 
By  death  comes  life,  by  loss  comes  gain, 
The  joy  for  the  tear,  the  peace  for  the  pain. 

The  "  Golden  Censer"  was  prepared  at  Lancaster 
during  the  time  that  the  Liturgical  Committee  were 
holding  their  deliberations,  but  was  not  published 
until  Dr.  Harbaugh  had  removed  to  Lebanon  in 
November,  1860.  In  it  will  be  found  not  so  much 
of  anything  new,  as  of  that  which  will  conduct  the 
young  Christian  into  the  silent  fellowship  of  the 
venerable  saints  of  the  past  ages.  The  author 
claimed  little  for  himself,  but  chose  humbly  to  say  : 
"  Here  are  words  of  high  inspiration  born  in  the 
hearts  and  caught  from  the  lips  of  martyrs,  con- 
fessors and  saints  of  all  ages,  lands,  and  languages. 
Sacred  associations  of  faith,  hope,  love,  and  peni- 
tence, of  joys  and  sorrows,  of  conflicts  and  victories, 
render  fragrant  every  line  and  word  of  these  solemn 
old  devotions." 

During  his  first  year  at  Lebanon,  4 '  Hymns  and 
Chants,"  a  book  for  the  Sunday-schools,  was  issued. 
It  proved  to  be  what  was  needed  and  has  been 
largely  used  as  an  order  of  worship  and  hymn  book 
in  our  Sunday-schools  for  the  last  thirty  years.  In 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  217 

preparing  this  work  the  author  was  surprised  to  find 
how  many  poems  the  existing  collections  contained 
which  in  his  judgment  were  not  hymns  at  all.  He 
also  published,  in  1867,  "  Youth  in  Earnest,"  as 
illustrated  in  the  life  of  Theodore  D.  Fisher,  a 
young  member  of  his  church  at  Lebanon,  who  be- 
came a  paymaster's  clerk  in  the  army  in  1863,  and 
who  was  lost  in  the  burning  of  the  unfortunate 
steamer  Ruth,  on  August  3,  1863,  on  the  Missis- 
sippi river  near  Cairo. 

The  mention  of  the  "  Child's  Catechism"  (1867), 
"The  Religious  Character  of  Washington,"  "  An- 
nals of  the  Harbaugh  Family"  (1856),  and  other 
small  pamphlets,  does  not  fully  complete  the  list  of 
his  minor  publications. 

The  project  of  a  commemoration  of  the  three 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
now  began  to  be  of  absorbing  interest  to  the  pastor 
of  St.  John's  Church,  Lebanon.  This  great  event, 
after  careful  preparation,  was  celebrated  at  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. ,  January  17-23,  1863. 

In  a  historical  sketch  of  this  event,  or  series  of 
events,  is  the  following  paragraph  : 

"  Great  events,  it  will  be  found,  if  facts  are  carefully 
traced  out,  generally  owe  their  origin  to  some  compar- 
atively trivial  circumstance,  which  at  the  time  attracted 
but  little  attention.  The  Tercentenary  Celebration  of 
the  Formation  and  Adoption  of  the  Heidelberg  Gate- 


2i8  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

chism  by  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  America, 
does  not  form  an  exception  to  this  rule. ' ' 

In  the  first  volume  of  the,  work  entitled  "The 
Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Europe  and 
America,"  by  Rev.  H.  Harbaugh,  D.D.,  the  fol- 
lowing language  occurs  at  the  close  of  his  sketch 
of  Frederick  III.  : 

"If  the  Reformed  Church  wishes  still  further  to 
honor  the  memory  of  Frederick,  it  cannot  do  it  in  a 
more  appropriate  and  better  way  than  by  laboring  to 
make  his  blessed  Heidelberg  Catechism  rise  to  new  life 
and  power  in  the  hearts  of  its  members.  Should  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America  feel  desirous  of  reviving 
old  memories,  in  grateful  connection  with  the  Palati- 
nate prince  and  his  zealous  love  for  the  church,  and 
seek  a  fit  occasion  for  such  a  pious  purpose,  we  suggest 
the  3ooth  anniversary  of  the  year  and  day,  when  he, 
with  his  own  imprimatur,  and  with  pious  princely  com- 
mendation, sent  forth  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  into 
the  churches  and  schools  of  his  dominions — January 
19,  1863. 

' '  How  appropriate  !  and  what  a  blessing  might  such 
an  occasion  be  made  to  the  German  Reformed  Church 
in  America  !" 

This  was  written  early  in  the  year  1857,  and 
published  soon  afterwards.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  about  two  years  later  that  any  formal  move- 
ment was  set  on  foot  to  carry  out  the  suggestion 
here  made.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  classis 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


219 


at  Mercersburg,  held  in  Huntingdon,  Pa.,  in  the 
month  of  May,  1859,  a  series  of  resolutions  bearing 
on  the  subject  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Philip 
Schaff,  and  adopted  by  the  classis. 

This  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the 
synod  of  the  church,  and  from  that  time  forward, 
through  means  of  committees,  the  work  of  prepa- 
ration was  carried  on  and  all  arrangements  were 
completed. 

Eminent  theologians  of  Europe,  especially  in 
Germany,  contributed  articles  which  were  translated 
and  read  by  members  of  the  convention.  The 
opening  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
R.  Fisher,  D.D. ,  and  Dr.  John  W.  Nevin  was  made 
president.  Dr.  Harbaugh  had  translated  the  con- 
tribution of  Dr.  Herzog  of  Erlangen,  Germany,  on 
the  Swiss  Reformers  and  read  it  in  place  before  the 
convention. 

Between  the  readings  of  the  specially  prepared 
essays,  discussions  were  held  in  an  informal  way. 
At  the  close  of  the  address  of  Dr.  Ebrard  on  Me- 
lanchthon  as  translated  by  W.  M.  Reily,  a  tutor  in 
the  seminary  at  Mercersburg,  Dr.  Harbaugh,  ad- 
dressing the  convention  said  : 

"The  essay  of  Dr.  Ebrard  just  read  discusses  an 
important  point — the  influence  exerted  by  Melancthon 
on  the  Palatinate,  and  the  Melancthonian  element  as 
it  entered  into  the  formation  and  founding  of  the  Re- 


220  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

formed  Church  of  the  Palatinate  under  Frederick  III. 
in  1563. 

1 '  The  full  extent  and  significance  of  this  element, 
as  it  entered  into  that  eventful  period  of  the  Reforma- 
tion history,  has  only  during  the  last  several  decades 
come  to  be  properly  understood.  The  reason  for  this 
may  be  found  in  the  more  catholic  spirit  which  has  of 
late  years  characterized  the  study  of  that  period  of 
history. 

' '  When  the  great  Reformatory  movement  of  the 
sixteenth  century  became  unfortunately  divided  into 
the  two  great  sections  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed, 
the  controversial  spirit  on  both  sides  grew  sharp  and 
strong.  In  the  heat  of  battle,  preferences — we  might 
say  prejudices — became  firmly  set,  and  these  were 
traditionally  perpetuated  from  age  to  age.  Being 
removed  from  the  scenes  of  those  early  contests  both 
by  space  and  by  time,  we  of  the  present  day  are  in  this 
respect  in  a  favorable  position  for  reviewing  and  per- 
ceiving the  ruling  elements  which  entered  into  the 
events  of  the  times.  It  is  difficult  for  us  now  to 
appreciate  fully  the  strong  traditionary  feelings  which 
then  warped,  if  they  did  not  even  unconsciously  darken, 
the  minds  of  those  who  then  contended  with  each  other 
on  both  confessional  sides.  Even  some  of  the  cate- 
chisms and  books  of  elementary  religious  instruction, 
were,  we  may  say,  rudely  sharp  and  pragmatic,  cul- 
tivating thus  the  spirit  of  sharp  antagonism  in  the 
minds  of  the  young,  and  perpetuating  stern  traditional 
prejudices  in  youthful  minds,  who  could  know  but 
little  of  the  points  at  issue.  In  a  passage  in  the  cate- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  22I 

chetical  work  of  De  Witte — in  many  respects  an 
excellent  book — the  catechumen  is  asked  :  'Are  the 
Papists  properly  called  Catholic?'  Ans.  'No;  they 
are  properly  called  Kakolic,' — playing  upon  a  Greek 
word  meaning  evil  or  wickedness.  We  have  also  heard 
of  an  elementary  religious  book  of  that  time  in  which 
the  child  is  asked  :  *  Believest  thou  firmly  that  the 
Reformed  hold  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  errors  in 
common  with  the  Turks?'  Ans.  '  Yes  ;  this  I  believe 
with  my  whole  heart.'  These  are  somewhat  strong 
and  extreme  specimens ;  but  they  are  still  illustrative 
of  the  sharp  antagonism  in  which  the  different  con- 
fessions stood  toward  each  other,  and  show  with  what 
zeal  it  was  sought  to  bias  the  minds  of  the  age.  In 
proportion  as  such  traditional  prejudice  reigned,  and  as 
long  as  they  reigned,  it  was,  of  course,  impossible  to 
take  a  calm  and  true  view  of  the  events  in  which  they 
had  their  rise. 

"With  the  dust  of  that  great  historical  battle  the 
partisan  feeling  of  the  age  have  in  a  great  measure 
passed  away,  and  men  are  prepared  to  look  back  and 
review  the  times  with  other  eyes.  The  Reformed  are 
now  able  to  see  the  working  of  a  great  power  in  the 
bosom  of  Lutheranism,  in  which  they  discover  not  only 
a  congeniality  with  what  was  precious  to  itself,  but 
which  actually  became  part  of  itself.  Melancthon,  the 
author  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, — who  at  first  stood 
fully  with  Luther  in  his  views  of  the  Lord's  Supper,— 
was  brought  gradually  to  sympathize  with,  and  at  last 
substantially  to  adopt,  the  view  of  Calvin  on  this  sacra- 
ment, so  that  he  incorporated  it  substantially  in  his 


222  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

amended  edition  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  of  1540, 
and,  abandoning  the  view  of  Luther,  or  at  least  essen- 
tially modifying  it,  held  and  stated  his  views  in  a  way 
which  found  hearty  favor  with  the  leading  Reformed 
theologians. 

"  Besides, — what  is  a  still  more  important  fact, — the 
view  of  Melancthon  on  the  entire  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  took  deep  root,  and  extended  itself  widely  and 
powerfully,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Lutheran  Church  itself . 
Such  influence,  in  fact,  did  his  views,  as  embodied  in 
the  tenth  Article  of  the  revised  Augsburg  Confession  of 
1540,  obtain,  that  it  became  the  ruling  power  in  the 
Lutheran  Church  on  German  soil.  This  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  from  1540  to  1580  the  altered  Augs- 
burg Confession  entirely  set  aside  the  general  use  of  the 
original  confession  of  1530,  so  that  when,  in  1580,  it 
was  intended  to  republish  the  original  confession,  no 
copy  could  be  found  to  print  from,  and  recourse  had  to 
be  had  to  the  original  manuscript. 

"  The  fact  is,  that  the  latest  and  most  reliable  inves- 
tigations in  history  clearly  show  that  Melancthon  was 
influenced  by  the  Calvino- Reformed  doctrine  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  he  influenced  the  Lutheran  mind 
largely,  especially  in  the  Palatinate,  in  favor  of  the 
same  view  :  so  that  when  the  old  Lutheran  party  rallied 
again,  about  the  time  when  Frederick  III.  came  into 
power  in  that  electorate,  they  were  not  able  to  call  back 
the  general  Lutheran  mind  from  their  tendencies  toward 
and  sympathy  with  the  Reformed  doctrine.  Frederick 
III.,  with  that  deep  insight  which  characterized  him, 
wisely  determined  to  embody  these  views  in  his  Heidel- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  223 

berg  Catechism.  Melancthon's  influence  had  prepared 
the  public  mind  for  its  favorable  reception.  The  new 
catechism  came  with  welcome  into  the  bosom  which 
already  had  all  aptitudes  and  longings  for  the  views  it 
embodies.  Thus  the  Melancthonian  tendency  in  the 
Palatinate  became  the  occasion,  the  basis,  and  the  de- 
termining element  from  which  rose  the  German  Re- 
formed Church  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  In  brief, 
the  Reformed  Church  influenced  Melancthon,  and 
Melancthon  opened  the  way  for  the  founding  of  the 
Reformed  Church  on  what  was  before  Lutheran  ground. 

' '  The  historical  facts  on  which  this  view  of  the  rise 
of  the  Reformed  Church  of  the  Palatinate  rests  have 
been  incontrovertibly  established  by  such  men  as  Dr. 
Ebrard,  Dr.  Heppe,  Dr.  Herzog,  and  others.  Sudhof, 
in  an  article  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  in  Herzog' s 
Real-Encyclopsedie,  and  in  his  life  of  Ursinus  and 
Olevianus,  has  vainly  and  ineffectually  endeavored  to 
controvert  this  view. 

"  Facts  justify  us,  moreover,  in  believing  that  had 
the  timid  Melancthon  stood  up  firmly  in  maintaining 
the  tendencies  which  his  own  influence  had  created, 
when  these  tendencies  were  again  assailed  by  the  old 
lyUtheran  party,  the  result  might  have  been  a  full  union 
of  both  sides  of  the  Reformation  on  substantially  the 
same  confessional  ground  which  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism now  represents.  Who  does  not  regret  that  so 
desirable  a  consummation  was  not  realized?  But 
Melancthon  was  constitutionally  timid.  We  may  not 
blame  that  illustrious  man  ;  not  more  can  be  required 
of  a  man  than  is  given  him.  He  has  been  called  a  com- 


224  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

promiser.  We  would  not  charge  him  with  this.  We 
attribute  his  silence  to  his  timidity.  If,  however,  it 
should  be  thought  true  that  the  failure  referred  to  has 
resulted  from  a  compromising  spirit,  it  is  only  another 
sad  illustration  of  the  fact,  so  often  evident  in  history, 
that  every  endeavor  to  compromise  the  interest  of  fun- 
damental truth  must  meet  with  sad  and  certain  defeat. 
' '  No  feature  of  Reformation  history  deserves  more 
earnest  study  at  the  present  time  than  this  Melanc- 
thonian  tendency  ;  and  none  gives  better  promise  of 
pleasant  and  peaceful  fruits  to  both  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  Confessions  in  their  present  states  both  in 
Europe  and  America. ' ' 

Dr.  Harbaugh's  principal  address,  however,  on 
that  occasion  was  u  Creed  and  Cultus" — an  ex- 
haustive treatise,  with  special  reference  to  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  to  the  Palatinate 
Liturgy.  The  Tercentenary  Monument — a  volume 
of  nearly  six  hundred  pages,  containing  all  the 
essays,  proceedings,  and  a  history  of  the  movement, 
together  with  valuable  statistics,  was  compiled  and 
published  in  the  same  year  of  the  convention. 
Much  of  the  work  of  this  publication  was  per- 
formed by  Dr.  Harbaugh  before  he  gave  up  his 
charge  at  Lebanon  to  accept  the  professorship  at 
Mercersburg. 

No  one  in  the  Reformed  faith  could  have  given 
the  Mercersburg  Review  a  more  cordial  welcome 
than  Dr.  Harbaugh.  He  pronounced  its  appear- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  225 

ance  in  January,  1849,  as  an  eP°ch  in  the  church. 
The  Review  was  published  at  first  every  two 
months,  then  it  became  a  quarterly  and  appeared 
as  such  until  1861,  when  the  publication  of  it  was 
suspended  on  account  of  the  distracted  state  of  the 
country.  It  was  not  revived  until  1867,  when  it 
appeared  again,  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Har- 
baugh. 

His  stewardship  was  brief,  but  the  Review  gained 
a  fair  foothold  again,  and  his  contributions  to  it  were 
characterized  by  great  vigor  and  force.  The  Re- 
view  has  since  been  regularly  published,  having 
been  modified  several  times  in  name  and  in  general 
plan  during  the  course  of  its  history.  It  could  not 
be  otherwise  than  with  pathetic  and  solemn  interest 
that  any  one  would  now  turn  to  these  old  volumes 
and  behold  the  literary  excellence  and  great  scope 
of  learning  displayed  therein.  The  first  editor, 
Dr.  Nevin,  was  the  foremost  theologian  of  his  time 
in  America.  The  general  contributors  were  the 
men  who  have  been  in  the  front  rank  of  thought 
and  action  during  the  last  fifty  years  of  our  church's 
history. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  a  frequent  contributor,  and 
among  his  articles  are  the  following  :  "  Reverence 
in  Worship,"  September,  1849;  "Systematic  Be- 
nevolence, or  a  Plea  for  the  Lord's  Portion  of  our 
Increase,"  in  January,  1851,  which  was  afterwards 
published  in  pamphlet  form  at  the  request  of  synod, 


226  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

as  "A  Plea  for  the  Lord's  Portion  of  the  Christian's 
Wealth."  In  the  July  number,  1852,  he  contri- 
butes a  review  of  the  Doctrine  of  Christian  Bap- 
tism, translated  from  Dr.  H.  Martensen,  Professor 
of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Copenhagen.  In 
January,  1853,  appears  his  "  Parochial  or  Christian 
Schools,"  being  the  substance  of  a  sermon  delivered 
by  appointment  at  the  meeting  of  the  synod  of  the 
church  in  October,  1852,  in  the  City  of  Baltimore, 
and  published  at  the  request  of  that  body.  In 
April  of  the  same  year  is  the  continuation  of  Dr. 
Martensen' s  discussion  of  baptism. 

During  the  year  1854  he  contributed  a  translation 
from  the  German  of  Lange,  and  an  article  on  Chris- 
tian cultus,  and  in  the  next  year  two  articles  from 
the  German,  and  a  further  essay  on  Christian  cultus. 
For  the  next  five  years  he  contributed  no  less  than 
twelve  articles  of  considerable  length  to  the  Review 
upon  questions  which  were  agitating  the  church  at 
that  time. 

Dr.  Harbaugh,  upon  assuming  the  editorship  of 
the  Review  in  1867,  brought  to  the  work  a  ripe 
scholarship  and  a  high  reputation  as  a  writer  and 
thinker  upon  the  system  of  philosophical  and  theo- 
logical thought  it  was  intended  to  represent.  His 
theological  studies  conducted  him  into  the  very 
centre  of  the  sphere  in  which  it  proposed  to  move. 
In  his  introductory  article,  January,  1867,  ^e  says: 
"  The  publication  which  was  from  1849  to  1852  the 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


227 


Mercersburg  Review ;  from  1853  to  1856  the  Mer- 
cersburg  Quarterly ;  from  1857  *°  I86i  again  the 
Mercersburg  Review;  but  which,  under  these 
changes  of  title,  steadily  maintained  the  same  spirit 
and  character,  and  which  has  been  during  the  last 
five  years  suspended,  is  now  again  resumed.  Its 
suspension  was  not  owing  to  any  loss  of  interest  in 
the  subjects  to  which  its  discussions  had  been  de- 
voted, but  partly,  if  not  wholly,  to  the  pressure  on 
all  publishing  interests  brought  on  by  the  war  of 
the  Union,  and  was  always  designed  to  be  but  tem- 
porary. The  reasons  which  led  to  its  origination 
are  the  reasons  for  its  continuance.  In  resuming 
the  old  name  it  proposes  to  lift  the  old  banner." 

During  his  editorship  in  1867,  Dr.  Harbaugh 
contributed  to  the  Review,  "  The  Christian  Idea  of 
Almsgiving, "  "  The  Two  Systems, > '  "  The  Essence 
and  the  Form  of  Christianity,"  and  his  last  article, 
which  appeared  in  the  October  number,  "  The  Old 
Distinction  between  Gemeide  and  Kirche"  with 
special  reference  to  the  74th  question  of  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism. 

The  lectures  which  Dr.  Harbaugh  wrought  out  at 
the  seminary  in  Mercersburg,  are  preserved  in  man- 
uscript among  the  archives  of  the  seminary  at  Lan- 
caster. Some  of  the  ministers  who  were  students 
at  the  time  these  lectures  were  delivered,  possess 
-written  copies  of  them  in  full,  especially  those  on 
Dogmatics  and  Practical  Theology.  The  only  pub- 


228  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

lished  lecture  perhaps  is  the  one  which  appeared  in 
the  Review  of  January,  1868,  upon  "The  Church 
Doctrine  of  the  Forgiveness  of  Sin." 

Dr.  Harbaugh  completed  a  full  course  of  lectures 
on  Dogmatics  which  alone  would  make  a  good 
sized  volume  in  print.  He  also  prepared  a  course 
on  Practical  Theology,  on  Catechetics,  Cultus  and 
the  Pastoral  Work  ;  lectures  on  Homiletics,  on 
Symbolics,  on  the  history  of  Reformed  Dogmatics, 
and  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  The  mere 
mention  of  these  topics  can  give  no  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  work  as  it  was  planned  and  carried 
forward. 

u  In  a  seminary  where  the  teaching  is  all  done 
by  two  professors  and  a  tutor,"  remarks  the  editor 
of  the  Review  in  April  number,  1868,  u  the  won- 
der is  where  time  could  be  found  for  such  an 
amount  of  labor,  amounting  really  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  full  treatises  in  the  several  departments 
above  enumerated." 

In  outlining  this  work  Dr.  Harbaugh  leaned 
towards  the  system  of  his  favorite  author,  Dr. 
Lange,  of  the  University  of  Bonn,  but  he  was  not 
merely  a  retailer  of  other  men's  thoughts,  and  his 
work  is  expanded  and  enriched  by  extensive 
research  into  the  theology  and  philosophy  of  Ger- 
many. 

The  Inaugural  Address,  "  Christological  Theol- 
ogy," was  delivered  in  the  First  Reformed  Church, 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  229 


Reading,  Pa.,  on  the  24th  day  of  May,  1864. 
General  Convention  of  the  Reformed  Church  to 
close  the  Tercentenary  Celebration  of  the  Forma- 
tion and  Adoption  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
was  in  session  at  the  time.  Its  proceedings  were 
suspended  on  the  morning  of  that  day  to  afford  its 
members  an  opportunity  to  participate  in  the  solem- 
nities of  the  occasion.  The  services  were  opened 
with  an  invocation  by  the  Rev.  John  W.  Nevin, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Installation.  After 
the  devotional  services  had  been  concluded,  Dr. 
Nevin  delivered  an  extempore  address.  His  re- 
marks were  earnest  and  appropriate,  and  were  ren- 
dered more  impressive  by  the  fact  that  the  speaker 
was  able  to  draw  his  lessons  from  his  own  experi- 
ence, having  formerly  occupied  the  same  office 
himself. 

After  taking  the  obligation  of  office,  and  listen- 
ing to  the  charge  delivered  to  him  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  R.  Fisher,  D.D.,  Dr.  Harbaugh  stepped 
within  the  chancel  and  delivered  his  address,  which 
occupied  about  two  hours,  and  which  is  considered 
by  many  theologians  to  be  by  far  his  ablest  pro- 
duction. 

Synod  afterwards  requested  that  the  address  be 
handed  over  for  publication,  and  the  author  com- 
plied. Whilst  it  was  passing  through  the  process 
of  printing  in  Chambersburg,  and  after  about  one- 
half  of  it  had  been  set  up  in  type,  manuscript,  type 
15 


230 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


and  all  shared  in  the  common  ruin  which  attended 
the  burning  of  Chambersburg  by  the  Confederates 
on  July  30,  1864.  Thus  the  author  supposed  that 
a  final  disposition  had  been  made  of  it.  He  was 
called  upon,  however,  to  reproduce  the  address,  if 
possible,  and  pass  it  over  to  the  Committee  of  Pub- 
lication, but  it  was  a  request  most  difficult  to  fulfil. 
Upon  the  completion  of  this  difficult  task  Dr. 
Harbaugh  wrote  in  a  characteristic  vein  to  Dr. 
Samuel  R.  Fisher  under  date  of  November  22,  1864: 

' '  Te  Deum  laudamus  !  To-day  I  send  you  by  mail 
(marked  printer's  copy),  in  care  of  I.  R.  Rodgers,  the 
MSS.  of  the  Inaugural.  That  was  a  job  !  You  look 
for  it,  if  it  is  lost  again  I  must  have  $500  for  writing 
it  again.  It  was  the  hardest  job  I  have  undertaken 
for  a  long  while.  The  occasion  was  not  before  me,  the 
stimulus  was  not  at  hand,  the  scaffolding  had  all  been 
taken  down,  and  I  had  to  work  myself  into  the  subject 
again  as  at  first.  Fortunately  I  had  a  rough  first  draft. 
But  the  filling  in  had  to  be  done  again  de  novo.  I  be- 
lieve it  is  faithful — the  thoughts  are  all  there  ;  whether 
the  style  is  as  good  I  do  not  know.  Now  as  the  child 
is  rescued  from  Rebel  fire,  do  it  up  in  a  good  dress. 
And  as  time  has  elapsed,  do  it  up  as  quickly  as  possible. 
The  spirit  of  the  occasion  must  not  die  away  before  it 
appears. 

"  I  must  read  the  proof  .  Were  it  the  original  copy, 
I  would  not  care  to  trust  in  your  hands,  but  it  is  not 
written  in  large  copy  hand,  so  it  is  not  so  clear,  and  it 
must  be  correct.  It  will  not  delay  it  much  to  pass  the 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


23I 


proof  to  me.  Could  I  not  put  a  brief  note  on  the  blank 
page  opposite  the  title  ?  Perhaps  the  story  of  the  fate 
of  the  original  ought  to  be  given  in  brief,  and  a  state- 
ment of  how  I  produced  it  so  that  it  may  not  be  thought 
to  be  another  thing.  The  fact  that  I  had  the  first 

rough  sketch  would  fix  that  right 

Will  you  or  have  you  re-written  your  charge  ?  or  must 
I  stand  alone  ?  If  not,  you  ought  to  put  in  at  the  end 
the  account  of  the  proceedings  as  a  historical  matter. ' ' 

This  inaugural  was  addressed  to  the  learned  pro- 
fessors and  students  of  the  Reformed  Church  Com- 
munion ;  the  Christology  which  he  left  to  the  people 
and  which  has  been  sung  in  many  climes,  and 
adopted  by  many  a  pious  heart  as  a  sufficient  ex- 
pression of  its  abiding  faith,  is  all  summed  up  in 
that  tender  little  hymn,  "  Jesus,  I  live  to  Thee." 

What  shall  be  said  here  of  the  Guardian  ?  That 
little  magazine  which  the  founder  and  editor  re- 
garded as  peculiarly  his  own.  It  is  more  befitting 
with  this,  perhaps,  than  with  any  other  of  his  pub- 
lications, that  the  author  should  speak  for  himself. 
When  in  1867  he  laid  the  editorship  upon  his 
friend,  Dr.  Bausman,  he  wrote  : 

"  Seventeen  years  ago,  in  our  early  ministry — full  of 
youth  and  enthusiasm,  we  started  the  Guardian  in 
L,ewisburg,  Pa. — started  it  with  plenty  of  faith  and 
hope,  but  without  funds  or  subscribers.  A  kind  prov- 
idence gave  it  success  far  beyond  our  most  sanguine 
expectations.  In  1850  we  carried  our  sweet  burden 


232  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

with  us  to  Lancaster,  Pa.  After  ten  and  a  half  years 
we  took  it  with  us  to  Mercersburg,  where  it  has  again 
been  our  companion  three  years  longer.  In  our  study 
and  as  by  our  side,  it  has  grown  up  from  infancy 
through  childhood  into  full  youth.  Every  year  has  it 
hung  upon  our  Christmas  tree  as  an  offering  to  Christ 
in  the  services  of  the  young.  To  part  with  it,  even 
with  the  assurance  that  it  will  live  on,  and  perhaps  live 
better  than  ever  before,  has  to  us  something  of  the 
nature  of  a  bereavement  in  the  family. 

' '  How  many,  many  memories, 
Come  o'er  my  spirit  now." 

In  his  diary  of  December  13,  1866,  he  wrote  : 

* '  This  evening  I  wrote  and  sent  on  my  last  words  as 
editor  of  the  Guardian.  I  could  not  entitle  the  article 
'  parting  words, '  or  anything  of  that  kind.  I  must  feel 
as  if  it  were  still  my  Guardian.  Seventeen  years  thou 
hast  been  my  companion — a  beloved  friend  of  my 
bosom.  It  seems  like  the  end  of  a  little  world  to  give 
thee  up.  Yet  it  must  be  at  some  time,  and  why  not 
now  when  duty  seems  to  me  so  plainly  to  call  for  it.  It 
may  be  a  more  important  work,  but  it  cannot  be  a 
pleasanter  one  that  now  calls  me  to  part  with  the 
editorship  of  my  Guardian.  May  God  take  care  of  the 
work  I  am  now  passing  out  of  my  hands  and  give  me 
grace  and  fitness  for  the  work  that  is  now  falling  to  me 
in  its  stead. ' ' 

The  Pennsylvania-German  poems  which  appeared 
from  time  to  time  in  the  Guardian  were  collected 
and  published  by  Dr.  B.  Bausman  in  a  volume 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


233 


called  "Harbaugh's  Harfe,"  in  1870.  Dr.  Baus- 
man,  writing  in  The  Reformed  Church  Messenger 
recently,  said : 

"In  1868  the  late  Dr.  W.  A.  Passavant,  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  wrote  the  following  to  Dr.  P.  Schaff  : 

' '  '  I  wish  very  much  to  suggest  to  you  the  publica- 
tion of  Dr.  H.  Harbaugh's  touching  Pennsylvania- 
German  poems.  I  have  long  thought  that  his  poem  enti- 
tled "  Heemweh"  was  equal  to  Goldsmith's  "  Deserted 
Village."  There  is  no  one  in  the  land  better  able  to 
bring  out  such  a  work  than  you  are  ;  and  it  might  and 
would  be  a  monument  at  once  to  the  piety  and  genius 
of  our  departed  Harbaugh,  who  was  in  every  way  wor- 
thy of  the  love  of  his  own  church  and  of  that  of  the 
pure  and  good  in  all  communions.  As  a  delineator  of 
the  character  and  life  exhibited  in  our  slow  old  Penn- 
sylvania state  he  had  no  equal.  And  now  I  have  re- 
lieved my  mind  of  this  burden  of  pious  care  for  our  de- 
parted poet-friend. ' 

' '  Dr.  Schaff  laid  this  tender-spirited  letter,  with  its 
pious  request,  upon  my  heart.  The  result  is  known. 
But  for  this  timely  request  the  unique  poems  of  Har- 
baugh might  still  lie  unread,  in  the  old  files  of  the 
Guardian.  Much  of  the  best  work  of  our  strongest 
men  has  never  been  published  in  permanent  book  form. 
It  was  simply  spoken  in  the  lecture  room  and  on  the 
pulpit,  or  published  in  the  periodicals  of  the  church. 
The  results  of  the  best  and  ripest  scholarship  of  Har- 
baugh, Higbee,  Apple,  Weiser,  and  others  are  unread 
treasures,  scattered  loosely  around  in  old  periodicals, 
like  so  much  literary  lumber." 


234 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


The  u  Harfe"  contains  fifteen  poems  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania-German, and  the  author's  own  translation 
of  four  of  them  into  English,  among  these  being 
the  two  most  popular  and  widely  known  ones — 
uDas  Alt  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick,"  and  "  Heem- 
weh."  The  volume  also  contains  a  brief  sketch  of 
Dr.  Harbaugh's  life  in  Pennsylvania-German,  by 
Dr.  Bausman,  and  a  poem  entitled  "  Zum  A'Denke 
An  Heinrich  Harbaugh,"  by  his  intimate  friend 
the  late  Dr.  Weiser. 

The  "Harfe"  is  illustrated  with  six  wood  cuts 
made  from  original  drawings.  The  picture  of  the 
Old  School  House,  the  Old  Mill,  the  Harbaugh 
Home,  and  the  Old  Hearth,  were  all  sketched  on 
the  spot  in  Franklin  County,  Pa.  u  Kerchegangin 
Alter  Zeit,"  and  u  Heemweh,"  were  drawn  by  an 
artist  of  Reading,  Mr.  Devlin. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  frequently  requested  to  pub- 
lish a  collection  of  these  poems  in  book  form,  but 
the  wish  of  his  many  friends  remained  unfulfilled 
on  account  of  his  early  death.  The  commission 
could  not  have  been  placed  in  worthier  or  more 
tender  hands  than  Dr.  Bausman' s.  "  Harbaugh 
wrote  these  poems,  not  I,"  he  writes,  ubut  he  was 
a  dear  friend  of  mine — is  yet,  although  on  the  other 
side.  A  grateful  love  for  him  as  well  as  for  the 
people  in  whose  language  he  sang  these  songs,  in- 
duces me  to  publish  this  little  work.  The  wish  for 
its  appearance — both  in  America  and  in  Europe — 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


235 


has  become  pronounced.  .  .  .  This  '  Harfe'  gives 
a  representation  of  the  folk  and  family  life  of  the 
Pennsylvania-German.  From  the  cradle  to  the 
grave.  From  the  family,  the  school  and  the  church 
many  a  beautiful  picture  is  painted. " 

Dr.  Bausman  closes  his  preface  to  the  "  Harfe ." 
with  this  touching  sentence:  "  Mochte  die  lieben 
Leser  bitten,  *  Die  Harfe'  nicht  an  die  Weiden  zu 
hangen,  sondern  recht  oft  ihre  schonen  Klange  im 
Kreise  der  Familie  ertonenzu  lassen,"  which  being 
interpreted,  means,  "  I  would  ask  the  dear  readers 
not  to  hang  the  c  Harp'  on  the  willows,  but  to 
allow  its  beautiful  tones  to  be  frequently  heard  in 
the  family  circle. ' ' 

The  following  words  are  taken  from  Dr.  Schaff 's 
memorial  sketch  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  in  the  Christian 
World  of  January  9,  1868  : 

"  As  the  poet  in  the*  Pennsylvania- German  dialect, 
he  stands  alone,  if  we  except  an  isolated  attempt  made 
before,  namely,  the  touching  evening  hymn,  'Margets 
scheent  die  Sunn  so  schoej  which  was  written  by  a 
Moravian  minister  (the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Rondthaler) ,  and 
published,  with  some  alterations,  in  Schaff 's  Kirchen- 
freundior  1849.  I  first  directed  his  attention  to  this 
piece  of  poetry,  and  suggested  to  him  the  desireableness 
of  immortalizing  the  Pennsylvania-German  in  song, 
before  it  dies  out,  as  the  Allemannian  dialect  has  been 
immortalized  by  Hebel.  He  took  up  the  hint  and 
wrote  his  '  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick,'  which  he  modestly 


236  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

submitted  to  me,  and  which,  when  published  in  several 
newspapers,  produced  quite  a  sensation  among  the 
Pennsylvania- Germans,  and  found  its  way  even  to  Ger- 
many. The  '  Heemweh'  and  other  pieces  followed 
from  time  to  time  in  his  Guardian,  and  were  received 
with  equal  favor.  These  poems  can,  of  course,  only  be 
fully  appreciated  in  Pennsylvania ;  but  in  originality, 
humor,  and  genuine  Volkston  they  are  almost  equal  to 
the  celebrated  Allemannian  poems  of  Hebel.  They  are 
pervaded,  moreover,  by  a  healthy,  moral,  and  religious 
feeling.  They  deserve  to  be  collected  and  published  in 
book  form  either  separately,  or  in  connection  with  his 
volume  of  English  poems." 

The  Pennsylvania-German  is  a  beautiful  dialect 
from  the  Palatinate,  into  which  have  crept  many 
English  words  which  have  added  to  its  utility  but 
not  to  its  softness  and  beauty.  It  has  been  used  for 
the  most  part  as  a  means  of  conversation,  having  in 
but  few  instances  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  written 
language.  Its  literature,  however,  has  not  been 
limited  merely  to  humorous  experiments  made  by 
philological  students,  as  has  been  stated  by  a  certain 
writer.  "Heemweh"  alone  furnishes  ample  proof 
of  the  tender  pathos  of  which  this  language  is 
capable,  and  perhaps  the  most  popular  poem  of  all, 
"Das  Alt  Schulhaus  an  der  Krick,n  is  not  only 
rich  in  humor,  but  singularly  true  to  life  in  its 
descriptions,  and  pathetic  in  the  undertone  of  sacred 
life  and  home-feeling  that  pervade  its  every  line. 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  237 

Nothing  could  be  more  natural  and  truthful  than 
the  touching  expression  which  Dr.  Harbaugh  gives 
to  that  sense  of  love  for  his  mother  which  absence 
first  revealed  to  him  in  its  deepest  meaning.  Far 
away  in  the  West,  with  rivers  and  mountains  be- 
tween them,  he  unbosoms  the  beautiful  secret  of 
his  heart's  silent  love  ;  and  in  after  years,  when 
memory  presented  it  to  him  anew,  he  gave  expres- 
sion to  u  Heemweh,"  in  the  only  language  that 
could  have  fittingly  clothed  his  thoughts. 

It  was  thus  that  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  were 
woven  into  his  life  and  associations,  and  he  never 
could  break  away  from  them  without  the  pain  of 
homesickness.  He  would  at  any  time  exchange  the 
pomp  of  social  pleasures,  and  even  the  triumphs  of 
theological  controversy,  for  a  quiet  lingering  mem- 
ory of  the  summers  of  his  childhood  ;  the  dewy 
meadow,  the  twittering  heat  over  the  landscape  like 
a  swarm  of  silver-winged  insects,  the  calm  clover 
fields  in  red  and  white  blossoms,  the  glad  shout  of 
the  reaper,  and  the  painful  whine  of  the  dogs,  re- 
sponsive to  the  noonday  horn  ;  the  tinkling  bells 
and  the  lowing  and  bleating  of  herds  returning  to 
their  nightly  shelter.  His  spirit  gladly  received 
and  revived  such  scenes  in  all  their  richness,  and 
memory  treasured  up  for  him  the  golden  store. 

In  "Der  Alte  Feierheerd,"  the  old  time  hearth- 
fire,  and  other  poems  the  reader  is  brought  home  to 
the  winter  of  childhood  days,  combining  the  stern- 


238  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

est  outdoor  lessons  with  the  sweetest  heart  teach- 
ings of  the  fireside.  The  sheet  of  snow  on  the 
fields,  hardened  and  glistening  in  the  sunlight,  the 
piercing  creak  of  the  heavy  wagon  over  the  crisp 
and  frozen  road,  and  the  merry  jingle  of  the  sleigh 
bells ;  then  the  snow  balls,  the  snow  men,  and  the 
snow  forts — the  athletic  feats  upon  the  glassy  pond, 
and  the  school  house,  with  its  recess,  its  balls,  mus- 
ters, battles,  races,  and  hillside  sliding — all  these, 
and  much  more,  are  called  up  with  peculiar  vivid- 
ness in  this  quaint  and  curious  patois  from  the 
ancient  Rhine  country. 

u  Of  course,"  writes  Dr.  J.  H.  Dubbs  in  the 
Guardian,  "Dr.  Harbaugh's  efforts,  like  those  of 
other  poets,  were  not  of  equal  excellence.  Thus 
his  *  Peewee,  '  though  otherwise  a  fine  poem,  bears 
a  strong,  though  of  course  undesigned,  resemblance 
to  Hebel's  *  Storch  ;'  while  his  *  Law  Bisness'  is 
so  much  inferior  to  his  other  productions  as  hardly 
to  appear  to  be  from  the  same  hand. " 

It  may  be  true  that  the  fate  of  the  Pennsylvania- 
German  language  is  sealed,  and  that  it  will  in  time 
pass  away  as  a  practical  means  of  communication, 
but  it  has  a  history  and  a  literature  that  will  endure 
to  become  the  wonder  of  generations  yet  unborn 
who  shall  ponder  over  it  through  their  smiles  and 
their  tears. 

In  spite  of  the  humorous  speculation  revealed  in 
the  translation  of  Hamlet,  which  has  been  made 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


239 


memorable  by  its  rendering  of  that  solemn  declara- 
tion, "  I  am  thy  father's  ghost,"  into  "  Ich  bin  deim 
dawdy  set  spook"  let  the  Pennsylvania-German 
jealously  guard  the  dialect  of  his  fathers,  and  care 
for  it  as  Dr.  Harbaugh  asked  him  to  cherish  the  old 
school  house  : 

"Ye,  who  shall  live  when  I  am  dead — 

Write  down  my  wishes  quick — 
Protect  it,  love  it,  let  it  stand, 
A  way -mark  in  this  changing  land — 
That  school  house  at  the  creek." 

Never  are  the  poets — the  interpreters  of  the  mys- 
teries of  the  human  heart — more  successful  than 
upon  the  home  theme.  Whatever  else  that  is  beau- 
tiful they  may  have  left  behind,  it  is  in  their  rural 
idyls  that  their  names  are  most  pleasantly  and 
durably  embalmed.  It  was  his  "  Elegy"  that  made 
Gray's  fame  immortal.  For  Goldsmith  it  was  his 
"Deserted  Village."  For  Burns,  "The  Cotter's 
Saturday  Night ;"  Rogers,  his  "  Pleasures  of  Mem- 
ory ;"  Thompson,  his  u  Seasons ;"  Cowper,  his 
"Task."  The  same  may  be  said  of  many  others 
in  all  lands  and  languages.  What  are  these  poems 
that  stand  out  among  the  rest  but  songs  of  home, 
the  echoes  from  the  heart  that  memory  returns  in 
soft  voices  from  childhood.  These  are  the  "  wak- 
ings up  from  their  temporary  sleep  of  innocence  of 
those  deep  intuitions  and  presentiments,  which  from 
the  beautiful  and  imperishable  fields  of  life  behind 


240 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


us,  furnish  us  the  strongest  intimations,  outside  of 
positive  revelation,  of  an  immortality  beyond  the 
grave. ' ' 

It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  a  man  of  such 
positive  nature  as  Dr.  Harbaugh  should  create  an- 
tagonisms. The  zeal  with  which  he  pressed  for- 
ward often  brushed  aside  the  usages  of  diplomacy 
and  relegated  moderation  to  the  rear.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  George  H.  Johnston,  a  nephew,  who  had  ex- 
ceptional opportunities  for  knowing  Dr.  Harbaugh 
intimately,  speaks  to  this  point : 

"  If  you  will  allow  me,"  he  writes,  "I  would 
suggest  a  ruling  characteristic  of  Dr.  Harbaugh' s 
organization  :  His  was  a  sanguine  temperament, 
full  of  indomitable  energy,  persistent,  hopeful, 
quick  to  see  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  then, 
without  any  ado,  going  about  doing  it  with  might 
and  main.  He  did  not  depend  on  others  to  outline 
work  for  him  to  do,  but  topics,  subjects,  sprang 
from  his  own  mind  and  claimed  his  best  powers. 
Another  characteristic  was  his  ready  wit,  humor, 
temper  of  mind,  which  buoyed  him  up,  which 
helped  him  mightily  to  refresh  himself,  and  shake 
off  care,  brighten  weary  and  heavy  laden  clergy 
and  laymen  and  fit  them  and  him  to  renew  their 
labors.  This  vein  of  good  feeling,  of  wit,  of  invec- 
tive, of  reductio  ad  absurdum  power,  he  often 
utilized  to  overthrow  an  argument,  to  confuse  and 
confound  advocates  of  untenable  theories  and  illogi- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


241 


cal  or  absurd  views.  He  reminded  me  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  now,  of  Washington  Irving  then.  ..." 

These  phases  of  his  character  were  best  portrayed 
in  his  sympathies  and  labors  in  connection  with  the 
so-called  u  Liturgical  Movement. n 

The  question  of  using  the  liturgy  in  the  Re- 
formed Church  was  not  a  new  one  during  the  early 
ministry  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  or  even  of  Dr.  Nevin. 
The  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Reformation  in  both 
Germany  and  Switzerland  were  liturgical,  and  the 
early  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America 
used  the  Palatinate  liturgy  largely.  Some  of  them 
had  only  manuscript  copies  of  some  of  the  old  forms 
of  worship  and  used  them  regularly  in  their  services. 

As  early  as  1820  official  notice  was  taken  of  the 
matter  in  accordance  with  the  request  of  Maryland 
Classis  when  the  synod  met  at  Hagerstown,  Mary- 
land. A  request  was  made  that  the  form  of  wor- 
ship be  revised  and  published  both  in  German  and 
English.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter,  and  thus,  without  making  much  head- 
way, the  whole  subject  was  before  the  church  at  its 
successive  synods  until  1841,  when  Dr.  Mayer's 
Liturgy  appeared  in  both  languages.  It  was  not, 
however,  a  success,  only  one  small  edition  being 
printed,  and  no  second  edition  was  ever  called  for. 
The  question  was  further  agitated  in  much  the  same 
way,  and  was  referred  to  committees  whose  mem- 
bers found  it  difficult  to  effect  any  satisfactory  result. 


242  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  "  Mercersburg  Movement"  brought  the  sub- 
ject before  the  church  in  a  stronger  and  somewhat 
different  light  during  the  decade  from  1840  to  1850, 
and  at  the  Synod  of  Norristown  in  October,  1849, 
quite  a  long  report  was  submitted  and  after  much 
debate  a  committee  was  appointed  from  whose 
labors  finally  came  the  Provisional  Liturgy  pub- 
lished in  1857.  The  discussions  at  this  synod  were 
earnest  and  lengthy,  and  the  question  resolved 
itself  into :  Liturgy  or  no  Liturgy. 

Speaking  of  the  occasion  from  memory,  Dr. 
Philip  SchafT  says :  "  Another  speaker  embodied 
his  anti-liturgical  prejudices  in  the  lines, 

* '  *  Prayer  is  the  simplest  form  of  speech 
That  infant  lips  can  try.' 

But  he  was  promptly  silenced  by  the  quotation 
of  what  immediately  follows,  in  the  same  hymn  of 
Montgomery,  who,  as  a  Moravian,  was  certainly  in 
favor  of  liturgical  worship  : 

"  '  Prayer  the  sublimest  strains  that  reach 
The  majesty  on  high.'  " 

"A  third  opponent  of  the  report  asked  the  ques- 
tion :  'If  I  read  another  man's  prayer,  is  it  I  who 
prays,  or  the  one  who  wrote  it?'  He  was  effect- 
ively answered  by  another  question  :  '  If  you  sing 
a  hymn  is  it  you  that  sings,  or  the  man  who  com- 
posed it ;  or  must  you  make  both  the  poetry  and 
the  music  in  order  to  use  it  as  an  act  of  worship  ?' 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


243 


"  The  last  speech  as  far  as  I  recollect  was  made  by 
Dr.  Nevin,  with  his  usual  solemnity  and  earnest- 
ness. He  stated  frankly,  that  the  study  of  the 
church  question  '  had  wrought  a  complete  theolo- 
gical revolution  in  his  mind  and  entirely  removed 
his  inherited  Presbyterian  prejudices  against  litur- 
gies.' " 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
appointed  at  Norristown  and  remained  a  member 
until  the  completion  of  the  Provisional  Liturgy  in 
1857,  and  also  served  on  the  committee  as  it  was 
afterwards  called  to  active  duty  again.  He  was  sec- 
retary of  the  committee  and  kept  complete  notes  of 
all  its  meetings.  Many  of  the  conferences  were 
held  in  his  study  at  Lancaster  and  much  of  the 
work  was  done  there.  He  was  wholly  in  accord 
with  those  of  the  committee  who  advocated  a  com- 
plete liturgy  which  should  embody  forms  of  wor- 
ship for  all  services  of  the  church,  as  well  as  for 
private  devotion  and  special  occasions.  The  extent 
of  the  labors  of  this  committee  can  scarcely  be  esti- 
mated. Liturgical  lore  was  explored  from  the 
original  sources.  The  German  liturgies  and  forms 
were  translated  and  revised,  and  all  the  literature 
and  history  of  the  church  as  it  pertained  to  the  sub- 
ject was  familiarized  and  presented  by  the  various 
members.  Drafts  of  prayers  were  submitted,  freely 
criticized,  altered,  rewritten,  and  finally  adopted. 
Thus  the  Provisional  Liturgy  was  finally  published 


244  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

without  expense  to  the  church  in  1857  an^  given 
over  for  inspection. 

To  guard  against  all  mistakes,  it  was  plainly 
stated  that  the  synod  had  not  yet  given  to  the  work 
its  sanction  ;  the  liturgy  carried  with  it  no  authority 
for  the  churches  —  nothing  to  make  the  use  of  it 
binding,  nor  obligatory  in  any  direction.  It  was 
only  put  forth  to  meet  what  was  believed  to  be  a 
growing  want  of  the  Reformed  Church.  It  was 
thought  that  years  might  be  required  to  settle  the 
question,  and  that  the  interest  involved  was  so 
great  that  none  should  object  to  having  years 
allowed,  if  necessary,  for  its  proper  determination. 

However,  the  liturgy  was  well  received,  the  third 
edition  having  been  called  for  almost  in  the  same 
year  of  its  publication.  As  stated  above,  the  ques- 
tion was  by  no  means  settled,  and  at  successive 
synods  following  the  year  1857,  ^e  subject  was  un- 
der discussion.  Meantime  the  government  of  the 
church  was  so  changed  that  the  various  synods  were 
to  be  delegated  to  a  general  synod  to  meet  every 
three  years.  The  western  branch  of  the  church  had 
taken  up  the  liturgical  question  also,  and  so  it  came 
about  that  the  whole  subject  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  first  General  Synod  at  Pittsburg  in 


The  committee  that  had  been  so  faithful  in  its 
duties  was  restored  to  office  by  the  Eastern  Synod, 
and,  at  the  first  General  Synod,  a  recommendation 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


245 


was  sent  to  the  Eastern  Synod  to  go  forward  with 
the  revision  of  the  liturgy,  according  to  its  own 
judgment,  so  as  to  have  it  ready  to  be  presented  to 
the  General  Synod  in  1866.  With  this  kind  of 
encouragement  acting  as  a  stimulus,  the  committee 
went  to  work  again  in  good  earnest.  They  held 
many  meetings,  receiving  or  rejecting  their  own 
contributions  to  the  work,  using  the  freest  and 
most  unsparing  criticism,  and  had  it  finished  and 
published  for  the  Synod  of  York  in  October,  1866. 
The  word  liturgy  had  become  offensive  to  many 
persons  and  in  view  of  that  fact,  the  work  was 
called  simply,  "  An  Order  of  Worship  for  the  Re- 
formed Church." 

The  work  justified  the  expectations  of  its  friends. 
It  bears  on  its  face  the  indications  of  unwearied 
labor  and  perseverance.  The  spirit  and  character 
of  the  Provisional  Liturgy  had  been  maintained, 
but  various  changes  had  been  made,  and  it  was  then 
presented  to  the  synod  for  adoption  or  rejection. 
In  connection  with  its  presentation  the  committee 
made  a  long  report,  embodying  a  brief  history  of 
the  liturgical  movement. 

The  synod  then  referred  the  Order  of  Worship  as 
presented,  to  a  committee  of  its  own  members,  who 
made  a  report,  which  is  given  in  part  from  the  life 
of  Dr.  Nevin,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Theodore  Appel  : 

' '  The  report  then  concluded  with  several  resolutions, 
recommending  that  the  thanks  of  the  synod  be  rendered 

16 


246  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  that  this  work,  so  far 
as  the  synod  was  concerned,  was  brought  to  a  termina- 
tion ;  that  its  thanks  be  tendered  to  the  committee  for 
the  zeal,  ability,  and  unrequited  toil  which  they  had 
displayed  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  ;  that  the  revised  liturgy  be  referred 
to  the  General  Synod  for  action  ;  that  its  optional  use 
be  allowed  within  the  limits  of  the  synod,  until  the 
whole  question  should  be  finally  settled  by  the  various 
classes  and  the  General  Synod,  according  to  the  consti- 
tution of  the  church.  The  report  elicited  considerable 
discussion,  and  aroused  a  deep  interest  in  the  commun- 
ity. Here,  at  this  synod,  the  war  against  the  Order  of 
Worship  and  its  tendencies,  extending  over  a  number 
of  years,  was  initiated,  which  on  the  whole  probably 
did  it  more  good  than  harm.  Being  the  only  one  of  ten 
opposed  to  the  form  of  the  revision,  Dr.  Bomberger  had 
withdrawn  from  the  committee,  and  from  that  time 
onward  he  fought  the  Order  of  Worship  with  such 
weapons  as  he  deemed  most  effective.  His  speech  at 
this  synod  was  answered  by  Dr.  Harbaugh  in  his  own 
peculiar  style,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  liturgical  men. 
Dr.  Nevin  and  other  members  present  did  not  deem  it 
necessary  to  make  any  extended  remarks  or  arguments, 
as  the  matter  seemed  to  be  in  safe  hands.  The  synod 
adopted  the  report  by  an  overwhelming  majority." 

Students  of  church  history  are  familiar  with  the 
momentous  debates  of  the  General  Synod  at  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  in  1866.  Dr.  Nevin  was  the  champion 
of  the  Revised  Liturgy.  Dr.  Harbaugh  closely 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  247 

supported  him  on  the  floor  of  synod.  The  ques- 
tion was  first  referred  to  a  committee  of  nine,  fairly 
representing  the  different  parts  of  the  church  in 
numerical  strength.  There  was,  of  course,  a  mi- 
nority and  majority  report,  and  then  began  the 
great  controversy.  Dr.  Nevin's  argument,  litur- 
gical, historical,  and  theological,  occupied  two 
sessions  of  the  synod.  A  western  member  occa- 
sionally interrupted  him  by  asking  annoying  ques- 
tions, and  was  answered  so  appropriately,  that  a 
distinguished  military  officer,  General  McCook, 
whispered  to  a  friend  by  his  side  that  the  member 
referred  to  "  had  better  retreat  and  get  into  his 
bomb  proof."  This  questioner  did  retreat  and 
others  with  him,  as  the  theological  artillery  explo- 
ded over  their  heads. 

The  majority  report  was  brief,  and  simply  recom- 
mended uthat  the  Western  Synod,  in  conformity 
with  its  own  wish,  be  authorized  to  continue  its 
labors  in  preparing  its  own  liturgy  ;  that  the  Re- 
vised Liturgy  should  be  allowed  to  be  used  as  a 
proper  order  of  worship  in  the  congregations  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  and  it  should  be  understood  that 
this  action  was  not  intended  to  interfere  in  any 
way  with  the  freedom  of  ministers  or  congrega- 
tions who  might  not  be  prepared  to  use  the  liturgy 
in  whole  or  in  part." 

The  minority  report  was  much  more  lengthy  and 


248  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

pointed  out  its  various  grievances  and  all  its  objec- 
tions to  the  Revised  Liturgy. 

After  great  discussion  the  majority  report  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  in  which  all  the  eastern  ministers 
sustained  it  except  five  or  six,  and  the  majority  on 
the  whole  vote  was  seven. 

The  action  did  not  mean  that  the  Revised  Lit- 
urgy was  ratified  and  endorsed  by  the  General 
Synod,  but  simply  that  it  was  to  have  fair  play  and 
was  not  to  be  u  subjected  to  the  vandalism  of  being 
made  so  much  raw  material  merely  for  the  manu- 
facture of  another. " 

At  length  the  church  began  to  grow  weary  of 
controversy,  and  at  the  General  Synod  at  Lancaster 
in  1878,  the  different  branches  of  the  church 
seemed  to  be  drifting  towards  the  state  of  peace  in 
which  it  may  be  found  laboring  to-day.  Then  came 
the  Peace  Commission  and  the  Directory  of  Wor- 
ship, or  fourth  liturgy.  With  this  liturgy,  and  with 
the  extent  of  its  adoption  in  the  church,  all  good 
Reformed  people  are  thoroughly  familiar. 

During  the  liturgical  controversy  the  name  of  Dr. 
Harbaugh  and  that  of  Dr.  J.  H.  A.  Bomberger  were 
recorded  frequently  as  standing  decidedly  opposed 
to  each  other.  Dr.  Bomberger  was  not  an  anti- 
liturgical  man,  but  rather  came  to  be  an  anti-revised 
liturgy  man,  and  always  combatted  the  tendency  of 
liturgical  direction  as  advocated  by  Dr.  Harbaugh. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  the  committee  that  pre- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS.  249 

pared  the  Provisional  Liturgy,  but  withdrew  from 
the  committee  after  it  had  resumed  its  labors  on  the 
Revised  Liturgy.  He  waged  his  war  with  great 
bitterness  on  the  floor  of  synod,  and  his  shafts  were 
frequently  thrust  against  Dr.  Harbaugh  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  those  who  upheld  the  liturgy.  Dr. 
Harbaugh  in  turn  sought  with  all  the  power  of  in- 
vective and  sarcasm  with  which  he  was  peculiarly 
gifted,  to  lay  bare  the  errors  which  he  conceived  to 
be  lurking  in  Dr.  Bomberger's  arguments. 

Thus  not  only  in  speech  but  through  the  medium 
of  the  church  papers  and  the  Mercersburg  Review 
as  well,  the  controversy  waxed  earnest  and  ardent. 
That  the  feeling  at  times  became  somewhat  per- 
sonal can  scarcely  be  doubted,  for  these  earnest 
men  were  unbending  in  their  convictions  and  the 
contest  was  shaking  the  very  foundations  of  the 
church. 

But  neither  of  these  contending  warriors  went  so 
far  as  did  Dr.  Luther,  when  he  refused  the  hand  of 
fellowship  extended  to  him  by  Zwingli,  though  it 
was  pleaded  for  in  tears,  when  the  Reformers  met  at 
Marburg  in  1529.  Nor  did  the  controversy  de- 
scend to  such  grossness  of  language  as  that  which 
characterized  the  discussions  between  Puritan  and 
Churchman  in  England.  The  Puritan  pamphleteer, 
for  instance,  addressed  the  very  head  of  the  English 
church  as  "  Doctor  of  Diviltrie  and  Deane  of  Sarum 
.  .  .  you  grosse  beast ;"  while  in  reply  the  Church- 


250 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


man  states  that  he  thought  his  Puritan  adversary 
had  died,  or  in  other  words,  uthat  your  grout- 
headed  holinesse  had  turned  uppe  your  heels  like 
a  tired  jade  in  a  medow  and  snorted  out  your 
sorrowefull  soule,  like  a  mesled  hogge  on  a  mucke- 
hille." 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  this  great  storm  and 
long  stress  of  weather  that  fell  upon  the  church,  by 
those  who  are  inclined  rather  to  the  quiet  and 
peaceful  side  of  religious  life,  this  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  the  church  increase  was  greater  at  that 
period  than  at  any  time  in  her  history  in  America. 

Any  fair  presentation  of  the  liturgical  question, 
or  the  frank  statement  of  any  one  man's  part  in  it, 
surely  cannot  at  this  late  day  serve  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  church.  The  contest  was  earnestly 
fought  out.  No  one  was  ever  in  doubt  as  to  where 
Dr.  Harbaugh  stood  upon  the  question  from  its  be- 
ginning to  the  time  of  his  death.  His  conscien- 
tious labors  as  a  member  of  the  committee  and  his 
abilities  as  displayed  in  the  Provisional  Liturgy, 
were  generously  recognized  by  those  who  saw  fit  to 
oppose  the  liturgical  tendency  in  general. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  there  is  any  where  in 
the  English  language  a  more  perfect  specimen  of 
trenchant  sarcasm  and  invective  than  is  contained 
in  the  review  of  Dr.  Bomberger's  funeral  discourse 
on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  Dr.  Samuel  Helf- 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


251 


fenstein.  Dr.  Bomberger  took  that  occasion  to  set 
forth  his  views  upon  the  questions  which  were  then 
before  the  church,  touching  indirectly  upon  the 
subject  of  the  liturgy  and  the  priestly  character  of 
the  Christian  ministry.  In  the  Mercersburg  Review 
of  April,  1867,  Dr.  Harbaugh  reviewed  the  sermon 
at  length,  but,  in  the  midst  of  his  criticisms,  he 
states  that  u  with  the  author  of  the  sermon  we  never 
have  had,  and  never  intend  to  have  any  personal 
quarrel,  but  with  his  publicly  expressed  views  on 
the  subject  in  hand — ever  !" 

But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  these  men  were 
laboring  in  the  same  general  cause.  They  were 
nearly  of  the  same  age,  born  within  the  same  year. 
Dr.  Bomberger  was  a  graduate  of  Marshall  College 
and  the  Seminary  at  Mercersburg,  was  pastor  in 
his  early  manhood  for  five  years  at  the  old  home  of 
Dr.  Harbaugh — Waynesboro,  Pa.,  and  served  for  a 
number  of  years  with  Dr.  Harbaugh  on  the  litur- 
gical committee. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  in  March,  1868, 
to  elect  a  successor  to  Dr.  Harbaugh  in  the  semi- 
nary, when  a  resolution  was  offered  looking  to  the 
publication  of  a  memorial  volume  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Harbaugh,  Dr.  Bomberger,  in  connection 
with  the  adoption  of  the  resolution,  made  some 
touching  remarks  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  Dr. 


252 


OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


Harbaugh.  Dr.  Bomberger  lived  to  be  quite  an 
aged  man,  and,  like  his  antagonist  on  the  liturgical 
question,  he  became  somewhat  tempered  and  mel- 
lowed in  his  views  of  church  questions.  This  was 
amply  shown  only  a  short  time  before  his  death, 
when  he  greeted  a  son  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  tenderly, 
and  spoke  quite  at  length  with  unmistakable  feel- 
ing and  sincerity  of  the  father. 

Upon  another  phase  of  the  liturgical  controversy, 
let  the  words  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  himself  serve  to 
close  the  subject  : 

'  '  The  appearance  of  our  new  liturgy  has  given  occa- 
sion, in  some  quarters,  for  the  display  of  a  very  flat 
kind  of  pedantry,  which  is  deserving  of  notice  only  on 
account  of  the  superficiality  which  it  betrays.  Thus, 
the  blind  tell  the  blind,  that  the  greater  part  of  it  is 
taken  from  the  Episcopal  Book  of  Common  Praj^er. 
The  truth  is,  there  is  scarcely  a  respectable  liturgy  in 
existence  that  was  less  used  in  the  preparation  of  the 
new  liturgy.  That  some  of  the  forms  in  both  books 
are  similar,  results  purely  from  the  fact,  that  both  are 
drawn  from  the  common  liturgical  sources,  as  they  ex- 
isted in  the  earlier  church,  and  as  they  had  been,  to 
some  extent,  developed  under  an  evangelical  form  in 
the  Protestant  churches  of  the  Continent,  before  the 
Reformation  had  its  faintest  dawn  in  England. 

*  '  These  are  facts  ;  and  others  might  here  be  pre- 
sented, which  show  that  the  English  liturgy  is  far  more 
indebted  to  Reformed  liturgies  of  the  Continent,  than 


THE  AUTHOR  AND  HIS  WORKS. 


253 


the  present  liturgy  is  to  it.  For  every  single  page  that 
the  new  liturgy  may  be  shown  to  contain  of  matter 
from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  that  is  original 
there,  we  will  show  more  than  one  for  which  the  com- 
pilers of  that  book  were  indebted  to  the  liturgical 
labors  of  the  Reformers  on  the  Continent. ' ' 


VII.     BACK  TO  OLD  MBRCBRSBURG. 

DR.  HARBAUGH'S  departure  from  Lebanon 
after  a  pastorate  of  only  three  years,  was  occa- 
sioned by  his  election  to  the  Professorship  of  Di- 
dactic and  Practical  Theology  in  the  seminary  at 
Mercersburg,  Pa.  He  was  chosen  by  the  synod  at 
its  annual  sessions  heM  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  on  his 
birthday,  October  28,  1863. 

His  farewell  sermon  to  St.  John's  Reformed  con- 
gregation at  Lebanon  was  preached  on  the  evening 
of  Sunday  after  New  Year,  1864.  It  abounds  in 
solemn  and  affectionate  expressions  of  good-will  for 
this  people,  from  whom  he  had  not  expected  so 
soon  to  be  separated. 

"  We  part,"  he  said,  "  with  an  intelligent  convic- 
tion on  both  sides  that  it  ought  so  to  be.  Though 
abundantly  assured  of  your  sincere  affection — an 
assurance  signed  and  sealed  by  a  thousand  kind- 
nesses— all  acquiesce  in  the  separation  as  being 
necessary  and  proper." 

He  arrived  in  Mercersburg  with  his  family  on 
January  7,  1864,  and  for  a  short  time  resided  in  the 
house  north  of  the  seminary  building.  He  then 
moved  to  the  professor's  house  on  the  south  side  of 
the  campus,  which  became  his  permanent  residence. 
He  at  once  entered  upon  his  new  duties,  and,  as 


GROUP   GENERAL  VIEW  OP  COLLEGE 
SOUTH  COTTAOH.    DR.    HARBAUOH'S  RB8IDBNCB  1884  TO  1807 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


255 


early  as  January  i5th,  delivered  his  first  lecture  in 
.  the  seminary,  it  being  introductory  to  the  study  of 
dogmatic  history.  Dr.  Thomas  G.  Apple,  then 
pastor  at  Greencastle,  gives  the  first  real  glimpse  of 
the  new  professor  in  a  letter  written  to  Dr.  Baus- 
man  : 

'  'I  have  been  to  see  Dr.  Harbaugh.  He  is  at  work  with 
his  sleeves  rolled  up,  but  somewhat  nervous,  I  think, 
on  account  of  his  close  application,  and  sense  of  the 
new  responsibilities  resting  upon  him.  The  students 
(in  the  seminary)  are  well  pleased.  He  does  not  write 
much  for  the  M.,  but  it  is  no  wonder,  when  you  con- 
sider what  he  has  to  do.  I  cannot  see  how  he  manages 
to  write  so  much." 

Dr.  Bausman  gives  this  further  picture,  much  in 
the  same  connection,  writing  of  the  late  Dr.  Apple  : 

"  Drs.  Harbaugh  and  Higbee  were  then  at  Mercers- 
burg,  nine  miles  from  Greencastle  (Dr.  Apple's  home). 
The  three  with  their  families  formed  a  delightful  social 
circle.  Their  mutual  visits  were  frequent  and  most 
cordial.  These  three  royal  men  beautifully  stood  by 
each  other  in  trouble.  They  found  a  delightful  com- 
pensation for  the  solitude  of  their  village  life  in  a  liter- 
ary and  social  club.  Usually  one  would  read  a  paper, 
which  formed  the  basis  of  their  intellectual  feast. 
With  their  many  duties  the  preparation  of  such  a  paper 
sometimes  became  an  irksome  burden.  Dr.  A.  writes 
on  the  eve  of  a  club  meeting  :  '  I  feel  out  of  sorts  that 
my  essay  has  turned  out  a  kind  of  failure.  This  thing 


256  IvIFK  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

of  writing  is  not  always  an  easy  matter.  It  is  to  me 
sometimes  like  pushing  a  heavy  load  up  hill.' 

' '  Here  is  a  little  picture  of  a  club  meeting  at  his 
house.  It  happened  on  a  New  Year's  day  : 

"  We  had  a  house  full  of  visitors.  Besides  the  mem- 
bers of  the  club,  Mrs. and  four  children  were 

with  us.  Altogether  there  were  twenty-four  guests 
for  awhile.  Fortunately  we  had  a  large  fat  turkey. 
Higbee  read  an  elaborate  paper.  Harbaugh's  was 
good.  Yes,  Harbaugh  is  gifted  in  prayer.  I  once 
remarked  this  to  Higbee.  It  is  partly  constitutional. 
But  do  you  not  think  it  is  also  partly  the  result  of  his 
long  study  and  training  as  a  member  of  the  liturgical 
committee  ?  Praying  well  is  one  of  the  most  important, 
and  at  the  same  time  most  difficult  parts  of  our  public 
ministrations. 

1 '  One  needs  unction  in  reading  a  prayer.  Harbaugh 
spoke  of  the  want  of  heart  in  the  reading  of  the  litur- 
gical services  at  Dr.  's  funeral.  He  said  the 

brother  read  in  a  cold  and  heartless  manner. ' ' 

During  the  early  months  of  1864  Dr.  Harbaugh 
put  his  powers  of  endurance  to  a  severe  test.  He 
drafted  lectures  in  the  various  departments  of  semi- 
nary work,  inaugurated  his  class  room  work  at  once 
and  met  his  students  regularly  in  accordance  with 
the  plan  of  recitations  then  in  practice.  In  addition 
to  this  he  retained  his  editorship  of  the  Guardian 
until  he  became  editor  of  the  Review  in  January, 
1867. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


257 


Along  with  his  preliminary  and  introductory  lec- 
tures in  1864,  he  also  had  the  preparation  of  his 
inaugural  address,  elsewhere  referred  to,  which  was 
not  delivered  until  the  following  May. 

Meanwhile  the  liturgical  committee  had  been 
called  into  action  again  and  was  pursuing  its  labors, 
which  resulted  in  the  Revised  Liturgy  published 
in  1866,  and  which  became  the  subject  of  the  great 
discussions  at  the  Synod  of  York  in  October,  1866, 
and  at  the  General  Synod  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  a  few 
weeks  later. 

On  Monday  evening,  January  18,  1864,  in  accord- 
ance with  previous  arrangements,  the  students  of 
the  seminary  called  upon  Dr.  Harbaugh  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  to  him  and  his  family  a  wel- 
come to  their  new  home.  One  of  their  number, 
now  known  to  the  church  as  the  eloquent  and 
learned  Dr.  J.  Spangler  KiefTer,  acted  as  spokesman. 
Among  other  things  in  his  address  of  welcome,  he 
said  : 

' '  You  enter  upon  a  field  of  labor  in  which  men  of  no 
ordinary  character  have  preceded  you.  Here  labored, 
fora  time,  Dr.  Mayer,  the  pioneer  professor  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  seminary ;  here  labored  and  died  the 
learned  and  lamented  Ranch ;  and  the  revered  names 
of  Drs.  Nevin,  Schaff,  and  Wolff  shall  always  stand  in 
inseparable  connection  with  the  Theological  Seminary 
of  Mercersburg.  To  your  keeping  is  now  committed, 
in  part,  the  honor  of  this  seminary.  We  do  not  fear 


258  IvIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

for  the  result,  but  are  confident  that  this  institution  of 
our  church  will  continue  to  maintain  in  the  future  the 
character  she  has  sustained  so  well  throughout  the 
vicissitudes  of  her  early  history. ' ' 

In  reply  Dr.  Harbaugh  spoke  with  much  feeling 
and  quite  at  length  to  the  students.  His  closing 
words  are  given  below  : 

' '  I  am  here — and  among  you — in  some  respects  as  a 
stranger  ;  but  in  others  not.  Many  memories  crowd  in 
upon  me  !  New  are  all  things  and  yet  old.  Those 
mountains,  these  surrounding  hills  and  fields,  these 
buildings,  this  campus  with  its  shrubbery  and  trees,  are 
all  as  sacredly  familiar  to  me  as  the  scenes  of  my  own 
childhood.  Twenty  years  of  varied  labors  and  experi- 
ences have  intervened  between  my  life  as  I  left  and  my 
life  as  I  return.  Though  the  Alma  Mater  has  since 
glided  silently  into  something  more  of  the  venerable- 
ness  of  age,  she  seems  more  lovely  and  loving  to  the 
returning  than  she  did  to  the  departing  son.  Had  I 
honors,  how  filially  and  gladly  would  I  use  them  to 
crown  her  venerable  head  ! 

"There  is  this  difference  between  you,  as  you  are 
now  around  me,  and  myself — you  are  preparing  to  pass 
out  into  the  church  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the  pastoral 
office,  whilst  I  am  returning  from  its  direct  and  active 
labors.  Many  of  its  pleasures  and  toils  are  no  doubt 
known  to  you,  while  many  others  are  to  be  known  only 
by  experience.  But  of  one  thing  I  may  assure  you — in 
your  after  life,  when  engaged  in  the  responsible  duties 
of  the  pastoral  office,  you  will  often  look  back  upon  the 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


259 


years  of  your  seminary  course  as  among  the  pleasantest 
of  your  life  ;  and  should  any  of  you  be  so  unfortunate 
as  to  make  a  careless  use  of  them,  the  fact  will  furnish 
you  ever  after  with  matter  for  bitter  and  lasting  regret. 
This  is  the  plastic  and  formative  period  of  your  lives, 
and  the  determining  influence  of  this  period  will  give 
direction  and  character  to  all  of  life  that  comes  after." 

When  he  had  closed,  the  professors  and  students 
extended  to  him  the  hand  of  welcome  and  the 
remainder  of  the  evening  was  spent  in  social  con- 
versation interspersed  with  music,  vocal  and  instru- 
mental. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  took  up  his  residence  in  what  is 
now  known  at  Mercersburg  College  as  South  Cot- 
tage, where  he  lived  the  four  busy  years  that  were 
left  to  him.  That  he  had  premonitions  of  a  phys- 
ical breaking  down  is  beyond  question.  He  seemed 
to  think  that  it  was  necessary  to  crowd  the  work, 
and  that  certain  things  must  be  accomplished.  He 
tried  faithfully  to  heed  the  warnings  of  his  physician 
to  desist  from  mental  labor,  but  so  eager  was  he  to 
meet  the  expectations  of  those  who  had  called  him 
to  such  a  responsible  position  in  the  church,  that 
he  longed  to  get  back  to  his  desk.  Now  and  then 
he  could  be  lured  away  to  the  mountain  by  Elder 
Hause  for  a  squirrel  hunt  ;  Dr.  Higbee's  invitation 
to  go  fishing  or  to  take  a  swim  in  the  creek  was 
always  accepted.  His  old  love  of  working  in  wood 
never  forsook  him,  and  in  winter  he  would  build  a 


26o  LIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

sled  large  enough  for  a  party  of  his  friends,  who 
were  delighted  at  any  time  to  accompany  him  to 
the  near-by  towns  on  a  crisp  winter  day  or  on  a 
moonlight  night.  Every  summer  he  looked  for- 
ward with  pleasure  to  his  trip  up  through  Path 
Valley,  and  on  to  Lewisburg  by  horse  and  carriage, 
where  his  family  usually  spent  a  part  of  their  vaca- 
tion. It  was  upon  one  of  these  journeys  that  he 
came  to  the  blacksmith's  shop  with  the  droll  sign 
above  its  door,  "The  Live  Blacksmith"  He  was 
so  much  amused  at  the  sign,  and  so  well  pleased 
with  the  genial  manner  of  the  smith  himself,  that 
he  wrote  an  article  for  the  Guardian  using  the  live 
blacksmith  for  his  theme,  and  drawing  many  use- 
ful lessons  from  the  incident. 

Upon  one  occasion,  leaving  his  family  to  prolong 
their  vacation  at  L,ewisburg,  Dr.  Harbaugh  made 
the  journey  by  carriage  alone  back  to  Mercersburg. 
Of  this  trip  and  his  arrival  home,  he  writes  to  his 
wife  : 

'  *  On  Friday,  while  the  evening  star  hung  brilliantly 
and  beautifully  over  the  fluted  mountain  west  of  Mer- 
cersburg, and  the  last  faint  gleams  of  departing  day 
still  shone  and  lingered  along  the  western  horizon, 
there  might  have  been  seen  a  solitary  buggy-man 
wending  his  way  through  between  Ritchie's  house  and 
barn,  crossing  the  little  stream,  threading  along  the 
rocky  slope  past  our  fat  washerwoman's  humble  hut, 
trotting  up  seminary  lane  past  the  mansion  of  the  Pro- 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  261 

fessor  of  Church  History,  entering  the  gate,  himself 
acting  as  porter,  and  alighting  in  the  campus — greeted 
only  by  the  faithful  Rover  !  He  speedily  unhitched  his 
horse,  and  entered  through  the  silent  lawn  of  the  man- 
sion of  the  Professor  of  Theology  and  put  up  his  horse 
in  the  stable.  All  was  darkness  and  silence,  save  the 
sound  of  a  distant  flute,  supposed  to  be  Prof.  Moses'.* 
I  had  good  luck  all  the  way  except  in  Mifflintown, 
where  I  asked  the  way  to  Academia,  and  three  persons 
tried  to  tell  me  all  at  once.  I  could  understand  neither 
of  them,  for  all  talked  at  once,  and  such  a  ridiculous 
jabbering  I  never  heard.  I  had  a  basket  full  of  mail 
awaiting  me,  and  it  has  kept  me  busy  to  dispose  of  it." 
The  seminary,  like  the  community  itself,  felt 
deeply  the  depression  of  war  times.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1863,  atl^  even  earlier,  the  county  of  Frank- 
lin was  over-run  by  both  Union  and  Confederate 
armies.  The  capture  of  a  portion  of  Lee's  wagon 
train  on  its  retreat  from  Gettysburg,  landed  a  large 
company  of  prisoners  of  war,  and  many  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  of  the  South  in  Mercersburg. 
The  arrival  of  this  motley  crew  on  a  quiet  Sunday 
evening  created  a  new  excitement  and  afforded  one 
more  channel  through  which  the  thoughts  of  the 
people  could  be  diverted  from  the  existing  and  im- 
pending dangers.  Fears  that  an  attempt  to  rescue 
the  prisoners  might  be  made  created  great  uneasi- 
ness, but  the  knowledge  that  the  energies  of  Lee 
and  his  cohorts  were  all  centered  upon  a  safe  and 

*A  colored  man  employed  by  Dr.  Apple. 
17 


262  WFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

rapid  retreat  into  Virginia  dispelled  all  this.  The 
wounded  found  places  of  rest  and  received  prompt 
medical  treatment.  The  seminary  building  was 
turned  into  a  hospital  for  the  time  being  and  was 
soon  filled  with  wounded  men.  The  Sunday-school 
room  of  the  Reformed  Church  was  also  filled  with 
wounded  and  a  number  of  them  were  placed  on  the 
porch  in  front  of  the  church.  In  the  same  way 
the  basement  of  the  Methodist  Church  was  occupied, 
and  other  small  buildings  .throughout  the  town 
were  made  use  of.  Again  in  the  summer  of  1864 
the  little  village  was  invaded,  but  more  fortunate 
than  its  neighbor,  Chambersburg,  it  escaped  the 
torch.  While  the  burning  of  Chambersburg  caused 
untold  immediate  and  consequent  distress  to  its 
citizens,  yet  the  calamity  reached  far  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  town.  Dr.  Harbaugh,  as  well  as 
other  ministers  of  the  church,  lost  valuable  books 
and  manuscript,  and  the  loss  of  the  manuscript  of 
his  inaugural  address,  elsewhere  referred  to,  was 
one  that  could  not  be  restored.  During  all  these 
troublous  times,  Dr.  Harbaugh  maintained  a  hope- 
ful spirit  and  never  wavered  in  the  faith  that  the 
Union  would  be  restored.  When  others  around 
him  became  depressed  on  account  of  reports  favor- 
able to  the  Confederate  cause,  he  would  say,  "  Wait 
until  you  hear  from  our  army  again. "  But  the 
weary  struggle  came  to  an  end  at  last,  and  in  his 
diary  of  April  10,  1865,  he  made  this  entry  : 


DR    HARBAUOH  AND  HIS  SUCCESSOR,  DR    JOHNSTON,  AT  ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH. 
LEBANON,  PA. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  263 

' '  To-day  at  half -past  eleven  the  dispatch  was  brought 
to  my  study  giving  notice  of  the  surrender  of  Lee,  and 
that  Sherman  had  again  whipped  Johnson.  The  bells 
were  rung  an  hour  from  1 2. 30  o'clock  on.  The  flag  was 
raised  on  the  seminary  and  the  students  sang  the  '  Star 
Spangled  Banner'  on  the  cupola." 

On  the  day  of  national  mourning  for  the  death  of 
President  Lincoln,  June  i,  1865,  Dr.  Harbaugh  de- 
livered a  discourse  at  Clearspring,  Maryland,  on 
"  Treason  and  Law,"  which  was  published  in  a  little 
pamphlet  at  the  request  of  his  audience. 

The  music  of  that  tenth  day  of  April,  1865, 
lingers  upon  the  memory  of  the  present  writer  as 
almost  the  only  recollection  of  war  times,  and  al- 
though he  may  not  have  understood  it  or  appreci- 
ated the  importance  of  the  great  event  which  had 
called  forth  such  a  demonstration,  yet  he  knew  as 
well  that  it  was  a  time  of  rejoicing  as  that  the  fol- 
lowing week  was  a  period  of  gloom  and  sorrow  over 
the  land.  There  were  some  excellent  voices  among 
the  students  of  that  day,  and  as  the  stars  and 
stripes  were  once  again  unfurled  to  the  breeze  from 
the  seminary  cupola,  the  words  of  Key's  immortal 
song  ascended  in  strains  of  music  that  perhaps  had 
never  before  clothed  them  with  a  deeper  meaning. 
In  the  years  1866  and  1867,  the  effects  of  peace  be- 
gan to  be  felt  throughout  the  land,  and  the  people 
of  Mercersburg  and  its  institutions  of  learning 
shared  in  its  blessings. 


264  WFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  social  relations  at  Mercersburg  were  very 
pleasant.  During  his  pastorates  at  I<ewisburg  and 
Lancaster  Dr.  Harbaugh  had  .made  frequent  pil- 
grimages to  the  little  mountain  town,  and  he  was 
by  no  means  a  stranger  upon  his  arrival  there  in 
January,  1864.  His  "class  of  little  girls"  had 
grown  to  womanhood,  but  they  still  remembered 
their  singing  teacher  of  the  early  forties.  The 
members  of  the  choir  at  the  Reformed  Church  also 
knew  him  as  their  former  leader. 

He  took  great  interest  in  pruning  and  caring  for 
the  trees  that  grew  in  the  campus.  He  knew  their 
names  and  manner  of  growth,  and  loved  to  watch 
the  development  and  budding  forth  of  each  pecu- 
liar kind.  He  cultivated  a  fine  garden  and  aimed 
to  have  the  choicest  fruit.  His  quince  trees  were 
the  pride  of  the  village,  and  the  old  fashioned 
apple  and  quince  paring  parties  which  he  intro- 
duced at  his  home  were  occasions  of  great  jollifica- 
tion for  the  students  and  others  who  were  invited 
to  take  part.  How  varied  his  daily  occupations 
were  may  be  indicated  by  a  single  extract  from  his 
diary  : 

"  Wrote  some  letters,  worked  in  the  garden.  Went 
down  town  to  have  my  axe  fixed.  Planted  some  grape 
vines.  Wrote  for  Messenger  and  Guardian." 

A  bereavement  like  that  which  came  upon  the 
families  of  Drs.  SchafF,  Wm.  M.  Nevin,  Thomas  G. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MBRCERSBURG.  265 

Apple,  and  Higbee  at  Mercersburg,  also  cast  its 
shadow  upon  the  home  of  Dr.  Harbaugh.  On  Easter 
Sunday,  April  i,  1866,  George  Merrill  Harbaugh, 
an  infant  son,  aged  eight  months,  died  after  a  brief 
illness  and  was  tenderly  laid  to  rest  on  the  follow- 
ing Tuesday.  Miss  Troupe,  now  Mrs.  Dr.  John  B. 
KiefTer  of  the  college  at  Lancaster,  made  a  sketch 
of  the  boy,  from  which  she  afterwards  painted  a 
portrait  in  oil,  which  became  a  much  cherished  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  Harbaugh  in  after  years. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  one  of  the  original  incorpo- 
rators  or  Board  of  Regents  of  Mercersburg  College, 
which  was  the  worthy  successor  of  Marshall  Col- 
lege, and  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  "  New 
Mercersburg"  now  under  the  successful  presidency 
of  Dr.  William  Mann  Irvine.  The  charter  was 
received  from  the  court  in  October,  1865,  providing 
for  u  the  education  of  youth  in  the  learned  langua- 
ges, the  arts,  sciences,  and  useful  literature,"  a 
liberal  charter  in  its  character  and  wide  in  its  scope. 
Its  history  is  interwoven  with  the  history  of  all  the 
institutions  of  Mercersburg,  and  in  great  part  em- 
bodies the  growth  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  from  1835 
to  the  present  time. 

Much  of  the  work  in  the  seminary  was  done  in 
the  early  part  of  the  day.  For  a  long  time  prayers 
were  held  as  early  as  5.30  A.M.  and  Dr.  Harbaugh's 
favorite  hours  for  lecture  were  from  7  to  9,  and  from 


266  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

ii  to  12.  During  these  years  of  his  professorship 
he  was  constantly  called  upon  by  the  church  for 
special  work,  and  he  always  responded  cheerfully. 
He  also  preached  nearly  every  Sunday  in  the 
churches  of  nearby  towns,  especially  in  the  Clear- 
spring  charge,  which  he  supplied  regularly  for  a 
time,  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Goodrich,  who  was 
recommended  to  the  people  by  Dr.  Harbaugh  him- 
self, and  who  has  (1899)  entered  into  rest  after  a 
faithful  pastorate  of  thirty-three  years. 

While  it  was  characteristic  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  in 
the  contemplation  of  any  subject,  to  go  to  the 
sources,  and  to  set  forth  the  results  of  his  burrow- 
ing, and  his  own  views  thereon  at  length,  yet  in 
his  later  writings,  and  especially  in  his  extempore 
addresses,  and  his  lectures  at  the  seminary,  he  de- 
veloped a  tendency  to  epigram,  and  has  left  to  the 
church  some  concise  expressions  which  have  been 
accepted  as  the  best.  Such  for  instance,  is  the 
term  u  Messianic  Ordination,"  which  he  applied  as 
descriptive  of  the  baptism  of  our  Lord,  and  the 
descent  of  the  spirit  of  God  upon  Him  like  a  dove. 

So  when  the  criticism  of  a  certain  clergyman, 
that  Dr.  Harbaugh  made  too  much  of  Christmas, 
which  happened  at  that  time  to  fall  on  Sunday, 
came  to  his  knowledge,  his  reply  was  :  "  Say  to  him, 
please,  that  Christmas  is  a  greater  day  than  Sunday." 

His  peculiar  power  of  illustrating  and  developing 
a  thought  by  drawing  upon  nature  and  natural  ob- 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


267 


jects,  is  apparent  everywhere  in  his  writings.  The 
reader  may  casually  turn  the  pages  of  his  published 
volumes,  and  find  many  such  illustrations  as  are 
here  given  : 

"  As  the  eye  that  sees  cannot  see  itself,  so  any  great  move- 
ment, in  any  given  age,  can  never  directly  and  fully  understand 
itself,  or  measure  the  meaning  of  the  activities  and  tendencies 
which  strive  and  struggle  in  its  own  bosom." 

"  The  tree  must  ever  draw  life  from  its  roots  ;  the  strength 
of  a  stream  must  ever  be  replenished  from  its  fountains  :  so  is 
the  nation  and  the  church,  in  the  divine  order,  ever  dependent 
for  vitality  and  vigor  on  its  past  history. ' ' 

"  As  the  setting  sun  leaves  first  a  glory,  then  a  twilight,  and 
at  last  darkness  ;  so  the  deeds  of  the  past,  as  they  sink  beyond 
our  personal  recollection,  are  first  bright,  then  dim,  and  then 
gone  !" 

' '  As  the  noble  Rhine,  which  in  its  course  over  many  a 
league,  waters  fair  meadows  and  blesses  smiling  vineyards, 
babbles  its  infant  song  on  her  bosom,  so  has  this  wonderful 
land  (Switzerland)  nursed  and  sent  forth  streams  of  history 
which  have  since  gladdened  many  a  heart  and  heritage  in 
church  and  state." 

"Thus  the  broad  surface  of  nature  becomes  to  us  a  grand 
panorama,  passing  before  us  as  the  seasons  pass,  revealing  in 
each  move  some  newr  representation  of  God's  wisdom  and  ways. 
Stupid  indeed  must  he  be  who  is  not  able  to  look  and  learn." 

In  his  series  of  articles  in  the  Guardian  exposing 
various  kinds  of  humbug,  his  powers  of  wit  and 
sarcasm  were  allowed  freer  play  perhaps  than  in 
any  of  his  other  writings.  In  the  September  num- 
ber, 1856,  appeared  a  book  notice  which  found  its 
way  into  the  Guardian  without  the  knowledge  of 


268  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

the  editor.  It  was  favorable  to  a  publication  which 
Dr.  Harbaugh  had  previously  refused  to  notice. 
In  the  following  month  the  Guardian  appeared 
with  an  article  on  the  subject  in  which  the  editor 
paid  his  respects  to  the  book  in  question  in  no  un- 
certain terms,  and  dismissed  the  subject  in  the 
following  words  : 

"  Now,  therefore,  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  may 
come,  the  editor  of  the  Guardian  sends  greeting  :  and 
he  disowns  the  recommendation  given  to  the  book  in 
toto — he  protests  against  being  forced  to  say  what  he 
does  not  wish  to  say — and  asks  that  if  any  one  wishes 
to  buy  said  note-book,  he  do  it,  like  General  Jackson, 
'on  his  own  responsibility'  and  not  from  any  recom- 
mendation purporting  to  be  from  the  Guardian ,  whether 
it  be  written,  printed,  pasted,  preached,  prayed  or 
sung/' 

Many  anecdotes  are  still  abroad  among  his  friends 
illustrative  of  his  rich  humor.  Upon  the  occasion 
of  his  visit  to  Waynesboro,  he  stopped  at  the  sad- 
dler shop  of  Lewis  Detrich,  a  pleasant  resort  for 
the  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  was 
informed  that  one  of  his  Waynesboro  friends  wanted 
to  see  him,  whereupon  he  said  :  "Tell  the  gentle- 
man that  I  am  now  visible." 

Then,  too,  his  translation  of  the  Latin  phrase, 
<4Non  omnes  possumus  omnia,"  We  are  not  all 
possums,  grows  more  intense  in  its  drollery  the 
longer  one  contemplates  it. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  269 

Before  leaving  Lancaster  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  in- 
formed through  Bishop  Alonza  Potter,  that  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Union  College,  at  the  com- 
mencement held  July  26,  1860,  had  conferred  upon 
him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
This  was  regarded  by  many  of  his  friends  as  a  well- 
merited  distinction. 

Not  among  the  least  tributes  to  his  greatness  are 
the  assertions  that  have  been  made  from  time  to  time 
since  his  death,  that  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  tending  to- 
wards some  particular  denomination — that,  had  he 
lived,  he  would  have  come  into  this  or  that  partic- 
ular fold  of  the  Christian  church.  No  one  who  will 
study  his  life,  and  his  works  that  are  based  on  the 
tenets  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  can  ever  arrive 
at  such  conclusion.  He  had  examined  and  settled 
the  question  for  himself  early  in  life  and  up  to  the 
year  of  his  death  had  not  found  any  reason  for  dis- 
turbing his  conclusion.  Moreover,  there  need  be 
no  speculation  as  to  what  his  life  work  would  have 
been.  On  his  forty-ninth  birthday,  October  28, 
1866,  only  a  year  before  his  death,  he  makes  the 
following  record  : 

' '  If  God  grants  me  health  and  life  I  hope  to  finish 
what  I  now  feel  still  to  be  my  work — that  is  to  organize, 
develop,  and  illustrate  a  system  of  Christological  The- 
ology. To  this  I  propose  to  devote  chiefly  the  remain- 
der of  my  life." 


270  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Thus  with  disposition  mellowed  and  softened  by 
experience ;  with  zeal  and  energy  unabated,  but 
stripped  of  the  impulsiveness  of  younger  years — 
with  mind  self  disciplined  and  well  stored  with  the 
knowledge  of  his  sacred  calling — he  was  stricken 
down.  He  lingered  for  a  few  months,  tenderly 
cared  for  by  those  he  loved,  but  gradually  drifting 
away  beyond  human  aid,  until  the  veil  was  lifted 
and  he  was  numbered  among  the  sainted  dead. 

His  only  desire  to  recover  was  for  the  love  of  his 
family  and  that  he  might  continue  to  labor  for  the 
church.  Beyond  these  things  he  had  no  wish  to 
live.  u  No  wonder,"  he  said,  on  awakening  once 
from  what  seemed  an  unconscious  stupor,  u  that  the 
early  church  saw  the  blood  of  the  atonement  even, 
on  the  leaves  of  the  trees."  At  another  time,  when 
aroused  from  such  a  state,  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  You 
have  called  me  back  from  the  golden  gates."  Dur- 
ing an  interval  of  consciousness  he  spoke  with  calm- 
ness of  his  approaching  end.  Not  many  days  be- 
fore his  death  he  remarked  to  a  friend  who  nursed 
him,  "  Some  of  these  afternoons  I  will  take  my  de- 
parture."* 

While  yet  in  his  pastorate  at  Lewisburg,  Dr, 
Harbaugh  was  married  to  Mary  Louisa  Linn,  a 
daughter  of  James  F.  Linn,  Esq. ,  a  lawyer  and 

*Upon  the  theme,  "You  have  called  me  back  from  the  golden  gates," 
Dr.  Cyrus  Cort  wrote  a  poem  which  was  published  in  the  Guardian,  and 
which  was  regarded  by  Drs.  Schaff,  Apple,  and  others  as  being  very  beau- 
tiful and  appropriate. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


271 


member  of  his  church.  As  a  child  and  young 
woman  she  had  spent  the  first  twenty  years  of  her 
life  around  a  refined  and  Christian  fireside,  and 
under  the  influence  of  intelligent  and  gentle  parents. 
After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  moved  to  Lewis- 
burg,  where  she  lived  for  three  years,  and  then 
returned  to  Mercersburg,  where  she  devoted  herself 
to  the  education  of  her  children  until  the  summer 
of  1885.  Then,  with  her  children  well  grown  to 
man  and  womanhood,  she  removed  to  Bryn  Mawr, 
Pa.,  where  nearly  twelve  years  later  she  entered 
into  rest,  February  13,  1897,  *n  her  seventieth  year. 
She  sleeps  at  the  cemetery  of  Old  Saint  David's 
Church,  Radnor,  a  quiet  and  beautiful  spot  within 
five  miles  of  her  late  home.  Services  were  con- 
ducted by  her  pastor,  the  Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh 
Apple,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Cyrus  J.  Musser,  editor 
of  the  Messenger,  and  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Miller, 
D.  D.,  of  Bryn  Mawr,  a  devoted  friend  of  the  family. 
It  was  her  disposition  to  be  cheerful  and  hopeful 
of  good  for  the  future.  She  never  faltered  in  the 
faith  of  which  her  husband  so  ably  taught,  and 
whose  labors  she  so  nobly  shared  until  the  end.  She 
had  a  high  conception  of  the  dignity  and  sacred 
character  of  the  holy  ministry,  and  her  gentle  words 
of  sympathy  and  encouragement  for  the  young  cler- 
gymen of  the  church  are  well  remembered.  She 
had  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  many  a  timid 


2 72  LIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

young  parson  and  with  the  struggling  student  life 
of  Mercersburg. 

Dr.  Callender,  who  knew  her  well  in  early  days, 
has  written:  u  Her  mild  and  pleasing  cordiality 
will  be  recollected  with  a  sad  pleasure  by  those 
whose  privilege  it  was  to  meet  her  in  her  home, 
especially  during  the  later  years  of  her  husband's 
life  at  Mercersburg.  She  was  a  woman  of  devout 
spirit  and  of  a  more  than  ordinary  reserved  and  re- 
ceptive disposition,  and  thus  became  the  satisfying 
object  of  Dr.  Harbaugh' s  deep  and  absorbing  affec- 
tion, while  her  mildness  happily  complemented  that 
ardent  zeal  with  which  he  asserted  his  convictions 
of  truth  and  duty.  There  was  a  company  of 
neighboring  ministers  who  in  response  to  his  invi- 
tation would  gather  in  that  home,  and  while  earn- 
est discussions  were  agitating  the  whole  church, 
would  study  the  questions  which  were  exercising 
its  mind  and  heart.  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  the  master- 
spirit in  those  meetings." 

Mrs.  Harbaugh  was  spared  the  suffering  of  a  lin- 
gering sickness.  While  for  some  months  it  was 
apparent  that  she  was  growing  frail  of  body,  yet  in 
spirit  she  remained  ever  cheerful,  and  it  was  but 
three  or  four  days  before  the  end  came,  that  her 
family  realized  the  probability  of  such  a  loss.  We 
may  well  believe  that  although  she  was  uso  tired" 
all  through  that  long  night,  yet  the  approaching 
dawn  had  in  store  for  her  a  sacred  rest  and  peace 


BACK  TO  OLD  MBRCERSBURG. 


273 


which  only  the  rapt  and  parting  soul  may  know  ; 
and  that  what  broke  upon  our  spirits  as  a  chilly, 
desolate  day,  was  upon  her  pale  and  wasted  brow 
"  the  gentle  breath  of  eternal  morning." 

Of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  first  marriage,  one  child  sur- 
vives, Mary  Olivia,  the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  S. 
T.  Lineaweaver,  Lebanon,  Pa.  Of  his  second  mar- 
riage, there  are  four  sons  and  two  daughters  living: 
Wilson  L.  Harbaugh,  Margaret  Anna,  Henry  Lange, 
Mary  Louisa,  and  John  A. ,  living  at  Bryn  Mawr, 
Penna.,  and  Linn  Harbaugh,  Chambersburg,  Pa. 

It  has  already  been  noticed  how  the  author  of 
"The  Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church,"  while 
absorbed  in  the  preparation  of  life-sketches,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  earliest  period,  had  frequent 
occasion  to  deplore  the  fact  that  the  work  had  been 
so  long  neglected.  In  many  instances  there  was 
absolutely  nothing  upon  which  the  author  could 
base  an  estimate  of  the  character  and  abilities  of 
his  subject. 

It  is  not  so,  however,  in  the  case  of  Henry  Har- 
baugh. In  the  several  issues  of  The  Reformed 
Church  Messenger  of  January  and  February,  1868, 
the  months  following  his  death,  there  have  been 
preserved  the  affectionate  and  able  tributes  of  those 
who  stood  very  near  to  him  both  personally  and  in 
the  common  cause  of  the  church  and  its  institution 
of  learning.  Some  of  these  are  here  given  in  part, 


274 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


as  supplemental  to  the  eulogy  by  Dr.   Gerhart  at 
the  opening  of  this  volume. 

From  the  pen  of  his  intimate  friend  Dr.  Gans, 
the  following  words  were  recorded  in  the  Messenger 
of  January  22  : 

' '  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  ardent  in  everything  he  under- 
took, and  his  ardency  led  him  to  undertake  a  great 
many  things — all  of  which  he  pressed  forward  with 
heroic  courage,  and  made  to  bloom  at  last  in  great 
success.  His  industry,  as  a  student  in  the  vast  field  of 
truth,  was  untiring.  In  his  writings,  he  shows  how 
varied  and  broad  was  the  range  of  his  thought.  He 
was  at  home  no  less  in  the  field  of  history  than  of 
theology  ;  and  in  the  practical  Christian  life  he  showed 
the  presence  of  the  same  high  gift,  baptized  with  equal 
spiritual  ardor.  This  ardency,  guided  by  correct  judg- 
ment, gave  a  peculiar  charm  to  his  words.  His  ser- 
mons were  always  of  a  high  order.  Many  of  them,  as 
they  fell  from  his  lips,  were  felt  to  be  eloquent  in  a 
truly  noble  sense.  He  knew  how  to  create  the  mighty 
rushing  torrent,  and  how  to  distribute  its  power  into 
gentle  fructifying  streams.  His  writings  are  all  fresh 
and  suggestive.  You  can  feel  his  ardency  in  every 
sentence.  For  style,  there  are  few  writers  more  pure 
— none  more  natural.  Seldom  has  an  author  succeeded 
in  throwing  more  true  geniality  into  his  publications. 
Strangers,  in  reading  his  works,  are  made  to  feel  at 
every  paragraph  that  they  are  in  company  with  a 
warm  and  congenial  friend.  His  faith  was  no  less 
radiated  by  this  central  element  in  his  being.  For  his 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  275 

mind,  God  was  in  Christ  and  Christ  was  in  the  Church 
— all  under  so  real  and  organic  a  form  as  to  place  the 
Divine  kingdom  entirely  above  and  beyond  the  effects 
both  of  error  in  its  own  bosom  and  of  all  the  wrath  and 
rage  of  its  foes  on  the  outside.  He  loved  history  as 
the  concurrent  testimony  of  God  in  a  human  form,  in 
iavor  of  the  unalterable  and  indestructible  principles  of 
essential  truth." 

Dr.  Giesy,  in  the  Messenger  of  February  5th, 
follows  with  these  words  : 

' '  All  his  writings  bear  the  stamp,  not  only  of  his 
genius,  but  of  his  theology.  There  is  here  one  char- 
acteristic most  refreshingly  prominent.  It  pervades 
everything  he  wrote,  for  it  was  the  very  center  of  his 
whole  Christian  life,  as  well  as  the  ground- work  and 
solid  foundation  of  all  his  theological  teachings ;  we 
mean,  of  course,  'the  Christological  tone  and  thought 
everywhere  appearing.  His  inaugural  address,  among 
the  ablest  of  his  productions,  is  especially  full  of  this 
kind  of  sound  thinking.  His  earlier  productions  also 
— the  three  volumes  on  Heaven — breathing  the  spirit 
of  that  sound  Christological  theology  for  which  he  was 
so  eminent,  and  full  of  the  poetry  of  his  own  sanctified 
experience,  have  brought  edification  and  comfort  to 
thousands  of  mourners  within  and  beyond  the  pale  of 
his  own  communion,  who  sympathized  with  him  in  that 
subdued  feeling  of  homesickness  for  heaven  and  its 
sainted  inhabitants,  which  he  so  beautifully  and  ten- 
derly portrayed." 


276  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Probably  no  two  men  were  ever  more  congenial 
and  affectionate  in  their  personal  and  social  inter- 
course than  Dr.  Philip  Schaff  and  Dr.  Harbaugh, 
and  it  seems  but  natural  to  read  from  Dr.  Schaff 
the  following  peculiarly  strong  and  expressive  trib- 
ute in  The  Christian  World : 

"  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  no  common  man.  He  was  en- 
dowed with  rare  gifts  of  mind  and  heart,  and  indomi- 
table energy  and  perseverance.  He  had  an  exuberant 
vitality,  a  rich  imagination,  great  power  of  populariz- 
ing and  illustrating  deep  thought,  and  an  unfailing 
source  of  genuine  good-natured  humor.  The  defects  of 
his  early  education  he  made  up  by  intense  application. 
By  the  integrity  of  his  character,  and  the  disinterested- 
ness of  his  labors,  he  won  the  esteem,  and,  by  the  kind- 
ness and  generosity  of  his  heart,  secured  the  affection 
of  all  who  knew  him.  His  cheerful  disposition,  rich 
humor,  and  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  original  anecdotes, 
made  him  a  most  agreeable  companion. ' ' 

Dr.  Bausman,  who  edited  and  prepared  for  publi- 
cation the  Pennsylvania-German  poems,  after  Dr. 
Harbaugh' s  death,  and  who  succeeded  to  the  editor- 
ship of  the  Guardian  in  1866,  was  for  many  years 
in  close  sympathy  with  the  hopes  and  purposes  of 
Dr.  Harbaugh.  The  two  men  spent  many  a  happy 
hour  together  discussing  their  then  present  work 
and  the  plans  they  had  for  the  future.  These  little 
conferences  would  rarely  ever  close  without  a  read- 
ing or  discussion  of  "  Das  Alt  Schul  Haus  an  Der 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  277 

Krick"  or  other  Pennsylvania-German  poems, 
which  seemed  to  furnish  humor  and  amusement  in 
abundance  for  them. 

Dr.  Bausman's  tribute  to  the  memory  ol  his  friend, 
from  the  Guardian  of  February,  1868,  which  is 
given  below  in  part,  breathes  all  through  it  the 
tenderness  of  brotherly  affection  : 

' '  Before  this  number  of  the  Guardian  shall  have 
reached  its  readers,  they  will  have  been  apprised  of  the 
death  of  Dr.  H.  Harbaugh.  The  sad  event  has  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  church  which  his  life  and  learning  have 
adorned  for  nearly  twenty-five  years Person- 
ally we  mourn  the  loss  of  a  sincere  and  fast  friend. 
He  seemed  like  an  '  elder  brother,'  whose  heart,  with 
watchful  tenderness,  followed  us  from  the  moment 
when  we  were  *  first  become  acquaint.'  It  was  in  the 
old  stone  church  at  Lancaster,  Pa.  His  friends  and 
admirers  had  often  praised  his  character  and  talents  to 
us.  Now  he  had  become  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
in  that  city — pastor  of  our  parents.  On  a  visit  home, 
during  college  vacation,  we  went  with  them  to  church, 
and  there  heard  him  preach  and  received  his  cordial 
grasp  of  the  hand  for  the  first  time.  Since  then  we 
have  directly  or  indirectly  been  under  his  moulding 
power.  We  preached  our  first  sermon  in  his  pulpit. 
He  assisted  at  our  ordination.  Helped  to  install  us  at 
Reading.  Followed  us,  through  his  letters,  with  mar- 
velous affection  when  traveling  abroad.  With  all  his 
arduous  work,  he  would  rise  in  the  morning  before 
dawn,  to  pen  sweet  greetings  and  cheer  us  on  our 

18 


278  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

journey  in  a  foreign  land.  Betters  they  were,  longer 
than  the  sermons  he  preached,  full  of  the  love  of  home 
and  heaven.  With  an  ecstasy  of  delight  we  pored 
over  them  again  and  again,  until  the  charms  of  Rome 
and  the  sacred  memories  of  Jerusalem  were  forgotten 
under  the  enchantment  of  his  loving  heart.  As  he 
held  ours,  so  held  he  the  hearts  of  hundreds  of  others, 
who  mourn  as  if  they  had  lost  a  natural  father.  Fare 
thee  well,  thou  sainted  brother  !  Sweet  be  thy  jo}7s  in 
the  realms  of  the  '  sainted  dead  ! '  Our  hearts  follow 
thee  to  the  edge  of  the  Jordan.  Along  its  banks  we 
linger,  lonely  and  lost,  because  thou  hast  passed  out 
of  sight. ' ' 

Referring  to  his  election  to  the  professorship  in 
the  seminary,  Dr.  D.  Y.  Heisler  says  : 

' '  No  better  choice  could  possibly  have  been  made  for 
this  important  post  than  that  which  the  synod,  guided 
by  a  higher  power,  actually  did  make  when  they  elected 
Dr.  Harbaugh  as  the  future  guide  and  preceptor  of  the 
sons  of  the  church,  to  prepare  them  for  the  work  of  the 
holy  ministry.  Intellectually  and  spiritually,  as  well 
as  by  his  naturally  happy  temperament,  he  was  admir- 
ably adapted  to  gain  the  confidence  and  hold  in  un- 
broken sympathy  with  himself  the  hearts  and  affections 
of  the  young  brethren  who  came  under  his  potent  and 
controlling  influence.  He  had  a  peculiar  power  to 
illustrate  and  make  familiar  the  most  important  and 
abstruse  questions  in  philosophy  and  theology.  He  was 
in  the  best  and  highest  sense  a  popularizer  of  what  was 
naturally  deep  and  obscure.  His  rare  power  lay  in  a 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


279 


peculiarly  happy  combination  of  profound  speculation 
and  a  semi -poetical  and  familiar  mode  of  representation. 
The  higher  exercises  of  the  intellectual  faculties  were 
thus  brought  into  living  union  with  the  familiar  objects 
of  every-day  life,  and  thus  rendered  intelligible  and 
attractive  to  men  of  even  the  most  ordinary  capacities. 

"  How  wonderfully  this  combination  of  two  seem- 
ingly opposite  qualities  in  the  constitution  of  Dr.  Har- 
baugh  aided  him  in  his  work,  and  gave  him  power  and 
influence  over  others,  was  felt  not  only  by  the  students, 
but  also  by  all  our  ministers  and  laymen  who  came  in 
contact  with  him.  His  sermons,  always  simple  and  in 
one  sense  unadorned,  were  yet  supremely  beautiful, 
attractive,  and  edifying.  He  never  failed,  in  his  pulpit 
efforts,  to  gain  the  attention  of  his  auditors  and  to 
retain  it  to  the  end  of  the  discourse.  His  power  to 
particularize  and  bring  out  the  latent  force  and  most 
striking  peculiarities  of  a  passage  was  wonderful ;  and 
this  power  of  accurate  discrimination  in  the  case  of  any 
and  every  subject  brought  to  his  notice,  enabled  him 
'  to  make  the  most  of  it'  in  the  best  sense  of  the  phrase. 
This  controling  influence  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
men  was  also  frequently  witnessed  in  the  discussions  on 
the  floor  of  classis  and  of  the  synod.  Few  men  were 
more  ready  and  successful  in  public  debate  than  he,  and 
his  great  earnestness  always  procured  him  a  respectful 
hearing  and  the  solidity  of  his  arguments  seldom  failed 
to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  the  listeners. 

"As  a  theologian,  Dr.  Harbaugh  had  few  equals  and 
no  superiors.  He  had  thoroughly  mastered  all  the 
deep  and  interesting  questions  relating  to  the  person 


28o  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

and  work  of  Christ,  and  the  practical  duties  arising 
therefrom.  In  the  deeper  and  more  spiritual  views  of 
Christianity  which  the  late  Christological  discussions 
had  brought  into  vogue,  he  was  especially  at  home  ; 
and  much  of  his  power  and  influence,  both  in  the 
pulpit  and  in  the  professorial  chair,  was  undoubtedly 
owing  to  this  higher  and  sounder  theological  position 
which  he  occupied.  With  all  his  vast  intellectual 
power  and  moral  earnestness,  he  could  never  have 
exercised  this  moulding  influence  on  any  other  ground. 
In  the  power  of  these  lofty  theological  ideas,  he  was 
pre-eminently  mighty — mighty  in  the  consciousness  of 
his  own  moral  rectitude,  and  mighty  in  the  overpower- 
ing influence  which  he  exerted  upon  the  others  around 
him. 

' '  Dr.  Harbaugh  took  a  deep  interest  in  all  the  pub- 
lic movements  of  the  church.  Her  various  benevolent 
enterprises,  her  literary  and  theological  institutions, 
her  late  Tercentenary  celebration,  and  the  formation 
and  introduction  of  a  better  system  of  worship — all 
these  enlisted  his  warmest  sympathies  and  called  forth 
his  most  earnest  efforts.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
liturgical  committee,  and  took  a  most  active  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  '  Orders  of  Worship. '  Many  of  its 
offices  were  prepared  by  him,  either  wholly  or  in  part, 
at  least.  In  connection  with  this  great  and  good  work, 
he  rendered  the  German  Reformed  Church  of  this 
country  a  most  valuable  and  enduring  service. 

"Altogether,  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  an  extraordinary 
man.  His  private  character  was  unexceptionable.  His 
social  qualities  were  of  the  highest  order.  Few  men, 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  28 1 

indeed,  could  make  themselves  more  agreeable  in  society 
than  he.  As  a  friend,  he  was  trusty,  confiding,  and 
ardent.  As  a  '  preacher  of  righteousness'  he  was  bold 
and  fearless,  and  as  an  expositor  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures he  had  no  superior.  'His  sermons  were  always 
solid,  fresh,  and  instructive,  and  in  the  highest  degree 
interesting  and  edifying.  As  a  pastor  he  was  faithful, 
kind,  and  compassionate — in  lively  sympathy  with  the 
wants  of  his  people.  As  a  theologian  he  was  thorough, 
earnest,  and  positive — eminently  clear  and  decided  in 
his  views,  and  in  perfect  sympathy  with  the  teachings 
of  God's  most  blessed  Word.  Before  the  overpowering 
majesty  of  this  glorious  revelation  of  the  Divine  will 
and  purposes  he  bowed  in  profoundest  reverence,  and 
silent,  childlike  submission." 

Few  persons  enter  upon  the  fortieth  year  of  their 
life  without  experiencing  some  very  sober  reflec- 
tions upon  the  half  of  life  that  has  passed  away, 
and  the  half  that  may  be  for  them  in  the  future. 
Few  also,  it  may  be  said,  make  such  a  record  of 
their  meditations  as  is  given  below  from  the  diary 
of  Henry  Harbaugh,  October  28,  1857.  In  its 
character  as  autobiography,  it  is  clearly  pertinent 
to  these  pages.  It  is  a  good  specimen  of  his  dic- 
tion, though  not  directed  to  the  general  reader,  and 
from  still  another  point  of  view,  it  is  strangely, 
sadly  prophetic  : 

"  '  The  days  of  our  years  are  three  score  and  ten  ;  and  if  by 
reason  of  strength  they  be  four  score  years. '  Four  score,  or  eighty 
years,  are  accordingly  the  full  allotment  of  man.  This  being 


282  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

so,  if  I  should  be  permitted  to  reach  the  fullest  period  of  human 
life — which  I  do  not  expect — I  am  now  half-way  on  my  life's 
journey. 

"  It  is  perhaps  this  thought  that  has  made  my  present  birth- 
day peculiarly  solemn  to  me.  I  have  hitherto  felt  like  a  young 
man,  and  have  ever  found  it  difficult  to  realize  my  age  ;  but  I 
am  to-day  forcibly  reminded  that  I  am  fairly  in  the  region  of 
manhood,  and  fast  on  the  way  to  the  end  of  life.  Childhood 
and  youth  are  fairly  and  forever  in  the  past ;  and  as  I  pass  be- 
yond forty  I  feel  sensibly  that  these  periods  or  seasons  of  life 
do  no  more  slope  up  to  me  ;  but  I  feel  as  if  I  were  in  a  measure, 
outwardly  at  least,  sundered  from  them  ;  and  hereafter  memory 
will  have  to  travel  over  a  space  to  reach  them.  Farewell  then — 
though  not  in  sweet  memory — my  childhood  and  youth. 

"True,  should  the  fullest  period  of  life,  as  intimated  by  the 
Psalmist,  be  mine— on  this  supposition  I  speak — it  would  still  in 
reality  be  longer  to  come  than  past,  as  far  as  it  pertains  to  the 
actual  work  of  life.  Of  the  period  past,  the  first  ten  years 
were  spent  in  childhood,  the  next  ten  in  youth — the  next  six  in 
a  coiirse  of  preparation  for  my  office — and  then  the  remaining 
fourteen  only  have  been  spent  in  what  I  regard  as  the  true  work 
of  my  life — inasmuch  as  I  was  licensed  at  the  synod  which  sat 
from  October  I2th  to  October  I9th,  1843. 

' '  I  have  exercised  myself  with  many  solemn  and  pleasant 
reflections  to-day  by  looking  through  the  Bible  to  see  what  events 
are  connected  in  it  with  the  period  of  life  which  I  have  now 
reached. 

' '  I  find  first  of  all  that  Isaac  and  Esau  were  both  forty  years 
old  when  they  were  married,  Gen.  xxv.,  20  ;  xxvi .,  24. 

"Israel  did  eat  manna  in  the  wilderness  forty  years,  Ex. 
xvi->  35  ;  Nen-  ix->  33>  an(i  tnat  so  l°ng  also  they  wandered  in 
the  wilderness,  Num.  xiv.,  33.  xxxii.,  13;  Deut.  ii.,  7;  viii., 
2  ;  xxix.,  5  ;  Josh,  x.,  6.  I  have  been  led  the  same  length  of 
time,  but  I  cannot  say  it  was  in  a  wilderness.  The  Lord  has 
most  mercifully  granted  me  a  pleasant  way,  crowning  it  with 
loving  kindness  and  tenderness.  My  life,  as  compared  with 
that  of  thousands,  has  been  a  happy  life.  I  have  not  only 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  283 

enjoyed  health  of  body  and  mind,  but  have  been  prospered  in 
all  my  undertakings  ;  so  that  I  am  often  amazed  when  I  think 
of  God's  goodness  in  this  respect,  and  array  His  mercies  by  the 
side  of  my  deserts.  He  has  not  failed  also  to  give  me  manna 
by  the  way,  so  that  I  have  not  lacked  anything  that  I  actually 
needed.  If  at  times  His  strokes  have  fallen  upon  me,  '  His 
strokes  were  fewer  than  my  crimes  and  lighter  than  my  guilt.' 
And  now  I  say,  as  I  have  a  thousand  times  said  on  a  review  of 
God's  dealings  with  me:  *O  bless  the  Lord,  for  He  is  good.' 
More — far  more— by  love  than  by  wrath  has  He  led  me.  Much 
more  of  His  drawings  than  of  His  drivings  have  I  felt.  Many 
more  prosperous  than  adverse  providence  have  attended  my 
life.  It  is  my  prayer  that  He  may  not  find  it  necessary  to 
change  His  dealings  with  me,  and  be  compelled  by  my  unfaith- 
fulness to  put  me  yet  under  the  discipline  of  trial,  terror,  and 
tribulation. 

' '  Caleb  was  forty  years  old  when  Moses  sent  him  to  espy  out 
the  land,  Joshua,  xiv.,  7.  When  he  was  84  years  old  he  could 
say  :  '  And  now,  lo,  I  am  this  day  fourscore  and  five  years  old. 
As  yet  I  am  as  strong  this  day,  as  I  was  in  the  day  that  Moses 
sent  me  ;  as  my  strength  was  then,  even  so  is  my  strength  now, 
for  war,  both  to  go  out  and  to  come  in.'  Verse  ii.  Should  God 
permit  me  to  see  so  many  years  my  prayer  is  that  reasonable 
strength  of  body  and  mind  may  also  continue  to  be  mine. 
Especially  do  I  pray  that  my  mind  may  not  fail  me  to  the  last, 
whether  that  be  sooner  or  later. 

' '  God  gave  the  children  of  Israel  into  the  hands  of  the  Phil- 
istines forty  years,  because  they  did  evil  in  His  sight,  Judges 
xiii.,  i.  When  I  remember  that  the  same  God  still  reigns,  and 
on  the  other  hand  that  even  though  I  have  endeavored  to  do 
some  good  for  myself  and  others,  yet  that  every  day  has  had  its 
sin  for  the  whole  of  my  forty  years,  I  have  reason  to  fear  that 
it  may  be  necessary  for  God  still  to  send  me  forth  into  the  hands 
of  disciplinary  providence.  May  His  mercy,  as  it  has  ever  been, 
continue  to  be  above  all  that  I  deserve  or  can  steadily  bring 
myself  to  hope  for.  Do  I  not  further  find  that  Eli,  after  he  had 
judged  Israel  forty  years  (I.  Sam.  iv.,  18),  nevertheless 


284  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

through  severe  and  mournful  trials  in  his  last  years !  To  a 
merciful  Father,  in  Christ  Jesus,  I  cheerfully  commend  myself. 
His  goodness  through  the  past,  is  a  source  of  wonderful  comfort 
to  me  as  I  look  into  the  future. 

"David  reigned  forty  years  over  Israel,  II.  Sam.,  v.,  4;  I. 
Kings,  ii.,  ii.  I  wonder,  and  am  humbled,  where  I  read  that 
during  all  this  time  '  David  did  that  which  was  right  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord,  and  turned  not  aside  from  any  thing  that  he  com- 
manded him  all  the  days  of  his  life,  save  only  in  the  matter  of 
Uriah  the  Hittite, '  I.  Kings  xv. ,  5.  Of  my  own  life,  I  am  deeply 
sensible  that  this  cannot  be  said.  My  comfort  is  that  the  blood 
which  can  take  away  one  sin,  can  also  take  away  many.  *  Her 
sins  which  are  many,  are  forgiven,'  Luke  vii.,  47.  These  are 
consoling  words.  I  humbly  claim  them,  now  by  faith  as  spoken 
in  reference  to  myself.  For  that  end  has  my  Saviour  left  them 
on  record.  It  is  as  easy  for  Him  to  forgive  many  as  few  ;  oh 
that  it  were  as  easy  for  us  to  love  much  in  return — even  accord- 
ing as  we  have  had  much  forgiven. 

"Solomon's  reign  was  also  forty  years,  I.  Kings  xi.,  42.  Of 
him  the  same  cannot  be  said  as  of  his  father  David.  He  sinned 
•often  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  suppose  from  his  book  of  Eccle- 
siastes — supposed  to  have  been  written  in  his  old  age — that  he 
had  much  of  darkness  and  tribulation  to  endure  in  his  last 
years.  As  a  kind  of  temporal  atonement  for  the  evil  of  his 
life.  Perhaps  it  is  necessary  that  this  should  be  so  for  two 
reasons  :  i.  That  he  himself  might  be  humbled  on  account  of 
.his  sins,  and  be  turned  to  have  a  better  mind.  2.  That  others 
might  see  that,  though  the  penitent  are  saved,  yet  even  to  them 
sin  brings  sorrow.  May  God  deliver  me  from  sin,  that  I  may 
escape  the  sorrow. ' ' 

The  present  writer  has  frequently  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meeting  with  ministers  and  laymen  of  the 
Reformed  Church  who  have  spoken  to  him  of  the 
varied  traits  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  character  as  they 
have  fallen  within  the  experience  of  each  one  per- 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCBRSBURG.  285 

sonally.  Not  realizing  upon  these  various  occa- 
sions the  inestimable  value  of  a  note  book  to  be 
stored  up  against  the  time  of  such  a  writing  as 
this,  these  incidents  have  been  allowed  to  pass 
into  dim  memory  from  which  they  cannot  now  be 
recalled  in  detail. 

In  conversation  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cyrus  Cort 
on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  the  Rev.  William 
Goodrich  at  Clearspring,  Md.,  May  9th,  1899,  he 
spoke  in  very  eulogistic  terms  of  the  impressions 
made  upon  him  by  the  writings,  teachings,  and 
personality  of  Dr.  Harbaugh.  He  had  been  a 
reader  of  the  Guardian  from  its  first  issue,  and  in 
later  years,  by  the  special  request  of  Dr.  Harbaugh, 
had  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  its  pages.  Pub- 
licly on  the  floor  of  Potomac  Synod  he  had  depre- 
cated the  discontinuance  of  the  publication  of  that 
monthly  magazine  which  had  done  so  much  to 
cultivate  a  taste  for  wholesome  reading  among  the 
members  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  had  served 
as  a  vehicle  for  the  presentation  of  many  valuable 
articles  by  Reformed  writers  which  were  not  suited 
either  for  the  weekly  church  paper  or  the  "  Quar- 
terly Review."  During  his  four  years  course  in 
Franklin  and  Marshall  College  at  Lancaster,  Pa., 
from  1856  to  1860,  Dr.  Cort  had  regularly  attended 
not  only  the  Sunday  evening  services  of  Dr.  Har- 
baugh in  the  First  Reformed  Church,  but  the 
afternoon  catechetical  lectures  for  the  benefit  of 


286  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

college  students  in  the  Sunday-school.  He  was 
free  to  confess  that  he  received  more  benefit  from 
the  instructions  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  than  from  any  of 
the  college  professors,  with  perhaps  a  single  excep- 
tion. After  Dr.  Harbaugh  became  Theological 
Professor  in  the  Seminary  at  Mercersburg,  Pa. ,  they 
became  closely  associated  as  members  of  the  same 
classis,  and  also  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  Mer- 
cersburg College.  To  quote  Dr.  Cort  more  closely: 

' '  Dr.  Harbaugh  was  present  as  my  special  guest, 
Nov.  17,  1863,  at  Altoona,  Pa.,  when  Mercersburg 
Classis  took  Christ  Reformed  Mission  Church  under  its 
care  ten  months  after  its  organization  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Westmoreland  Classis.  This  was  on  the  eve  of 
the  organization  of  General  Synod  at  Pittsburg.  The 
occasion  evidently  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind, 
as  the  following  entry  made  by  him  on  a  fly  leaf  of  my 
Provisional  Liturgy,  lying  on  my  study  table,  indi- 
cated, viz  : 

'  Tuesday  before  the  25th  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1863, 
Memorable  in  the  history  of  the  Altoona  mission. 

'H.  H.' 

"  When  the  corner-stone  of  our  sandstone  Gothic 
church  was  laid  at  Altoona,  July  31,  1864,  he  preached 
the  sermon  on  I.  Thes.,  i  :  3-8,  commending  '  the  work 
of  faith,  the  labor  of  love  and  patience  of  hope'  exem- 
plified by  the  Thessalonians,  to  our  little  Reformed 
flock  on  the  Keystone  mountains,  if  they  would  succeed 
in  their  important  undertaking  in  behalf  of  the  kingdom 
of  our  lyord  and  Saviour. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  287 

"  It  was  my  privilege  to  hear  Dr.  Harbaugh  speak 
grandly  on  many  occasions,  but  his  greatest  effort, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  the  greatest  forensic  effort  ever 
made  on  the  floor  of  any  Reformed  assembly  in  the 
United  States,  was  his  reply  to  Dr.  J.  H.  A.  Bom- 
berger  on  the  liturgical  question  at  the  meeting  of  the 
mother  or  Eastern  Synod,  in  York,  Pa.,  October,  1866. 
Dr.  Nevin  and  others  made  splendid  speeches  on  the 
same  subject  at  the  same  time  and  on  other  occasions, 
notably  at  the  General  Synod  at  Dayton  a  few  weeks 
later,  but  for  overwhelming  argument,  wit,  sarcasm, 
humor,  and  eloquence,  the  speech  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  at 
York  Synod,  in  1866,  stands  unequaled. 

"As  the  only  person  alive  who  has  attended  all  the 
meetings  of  General  Synod  since  its  organization  in  the 
fall  of  1863,  and  heard  all  the  important  discussions 
before  that  body,  I  am  in  a  good  position  to  speak. 
My  opinion  is  also  fully  confirmed  by  Rev.  Dr.  S.  G. 
Wagner  and  other  competent  judges  present  at  York, 
Dayton,  &c. 

"In  the  earlier  part  of  his  career  Dr.  Harbaugh 
seemed  to  entertain  rather  narrow  Puritanic  views  on 
question  of  political  and  humanitarian  reform,  but  as  he 
was  apprehended  by  the  Christological  mode  of  thought 
his  views  and  sympathies  were  broadened  and  mellowed 
in  a  very  perceptible  degree.  Dr.  Titzell  and  I  had 
ample  evidence  of  this  while  helping  to  care  for  the  sick 
and  wounded  with  Dr.  Harbaugh  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Gettysburg  the  week  following  the  great  battle.  He 
had  profound  reverence  for  Dr.  John  W.  Nevin.  Point- 
ing to  his  picture  on  his  study  wall  one  day  he  said  to 


288  IvIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

me,  '  He  is  the  father  of  us  all. '  Referring  about  the 
same  time  to  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  he  remarked  : 
1  It  is  wonderful  how  well  guarded  that  little  book  is  on 
all  important  points  of  doctrine.' 

' '  No  minister  in  the  Reformed  Church  ever  sur- 
passed Dr.  Harbaugh  in  the  happy  faculty  of  illustrat- 
ing profound  theological  doctrines  in  a  way  that 
brought  them  within  the  grasp  of  the  humblest  Chris- 
tian. He  did  important  and  heroic  service  as  a  pioneer 
originator  of  new  and  valuable  publications.  He  was 
the  father  and  founder  of  the  Guardian,  the  Reformed 
Church  Almanac,  the  resuscitated  Mercersburg  Review, 
the  Lives  of  Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church,  etc.  He 
was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  celebration  of  the  three 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
1863,  and  other  enterprising  historical  movements  of 
vast  benefit  to  the  Reformed  Church.  Pennsylvania- 
German  poetry  in  its  best  phases  was  originated  by  him 
and  given  a  world-wide  reputation. 

1 '  His  was  a  many-sided  mind  after  the  order  of 
Leibnitz,  Goethe,  etc.,  at  home  in  philosophy,  litera- 
ture, and  poetry. 

' '  Every  genuine  theologian  possesses  more  or  less  of 
the  poetic  element,  and  like  Dr.  Lange,  whose  writings 
he  greatly  admired,  Dr.  Harbaugh  possessed  the  poetic 
spirit  in  an  eminent  degree  and  thus  was  often  enabled 
to  interpret  the  deep  things  of  the  spirit  world  and 
bring  forth  choice  flowers  and  fruit  from  the  garden  of 
the  Lord  where  prosaic  minds  could  discover  nought 
but  a  barren  waste. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  289 

"  For  what  Dr.  Harbaugh  did  for  me  personally,  and 
for  the  church  of  my  fathers,  I  shall  always  gratefully 
cherish  his  memory." 

Hon.  M.  A.  Foltz,  founder  and  editor  of  Public 
Opinion,  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  has  this  interesting 
recollection  : 

' '  While  in  the  employ  of  the  Publication  House  in 
Chambersburg  from  April,  1861,  to  the  burning  of  the 
town  on  the  3Oth  of  July,  1864,  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  frequently  meet  Dr.  Harbaugh.  His  visits,  only  too 
infrequent,  were  especially  grateful  to  Dr.  Fisher  and 
other  Chambersburg  friends,  Drs.  Schneck,  Bausman, 
and  Davis  among  the  number.  It  was  during  the  early 
years  of  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Davis  that  Dr.  Harbaugh 
was  one  of  a  favored  company  of  divines  who  by  ap- 
pointment would  spend  an  afternoon  in  the  study  of 
'The  Young  Parson.'  The  Doctor  spoke  of  the 
delights  of  these  little  gatherings,  and  how  on  one  occa- 
sion Dr.  Harbaugh,  taking  possession  of  the  couch, 
said  :  *  Preach,  Davis  ;  I  want  to  sleep.' 

"In  the  printing  establishment  the  manuscript  of 
Dr.  Harbaugh  was  regarded  as  a  favorite  '  take'  with 
compositors.  His  chirography  was  round,  plain,  and 
distinct,  and  if  a  word  was  abbreviated  it  was  as  if 
chosen  as  much  for  the  ready  discernment  of  the  printer 
as  for  his  own  convenience.  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  MSS.  of  the  principal  writers  and  authors  of 
the  church's  literary  productions  of  that  period  will 
appreciate  the  relief  it  must  have  proven  to  the  sorely 
vexed  compositor  to  get  hold  of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  copy. 


2  go 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


By  them,  for  instance,  a  page  of  Dr.  Schaff's  manu- 
script would  be  likened  to  a  map  of  the  state.  It  was 
not  so  difficult  to  follow  until  you  struck  the  interline- 
ations. These  traveled  to  the  margin  or  any  unoccu- 
pied corner  of  the  sheet  in  all  sorts  of  hieroglyphics. ' ' 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Bausman,  October  24,  1867, 
Dr.  Harbaugh  intimates  in  his  own  pathetic  words 
the  beginning  of  the  end  : 

' '  I/ittle  did  I  think  when  I  promised  to  be  at  Wom- 
elsdorf  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  Orphans' 
Home,  that  this  sickness,  now  over  two  months,  was 
going  to  linger  thus.  If  I  were  there  I  could  speak,  as 
my  mind  is  perfectly  clear,  and  I  have  strength  to  last 
me  at  least  half  an  hour's  talk.  But  I  am  giddy  and 
could  not  travel  alone.  I  stagger  like  a  drunken  man. 
Fell  twice  the  other  day  on  my  head  and  fell  three  times 
going  up  stairs.  I  expected  every  day  to  be  better  ; 
but  I  fear  it  is  injudicious  to  let  you  hope  for  me  longer. 
If  I  can  I  will  come,  but  I  have  little  hope.  The  doctor 
says  it  may  be  two  or  three  weeks  before  it  leaves  me 
altogether.  Think  I  can  take  up  my  seminary  duties 
next  week  by  having  the  classes  come  to  my  house." 

From  that  time  forward  the  symptoms  began  to 
be  more  alarming,  and  on  December  17,  Dr.  Thomas 
G.  Apple  wrote  : 

"  Poor  Dr.  Harbaugh,  our  dear  brother,  is  still  low. 
For  the  last  few  days  he  is  a  little  better,  but  the  phy- 
sician has  little  or  no  hope.  He  has  been  prayed  for 
day  by  day  and  preserved  thus  far,  beyond  our  expec- 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  291 

tations.     The  Lord  can  raise  him  up  for  the  church. 
...  If  only  Dr.  Harbaugh  gets  well,  how  happy  we 
will  all  be.     Then  we  can  stand  the  fight  of  the  Gnos- 
tics." 

Dr.  Apple,  though  charged  with  much  extra 
work  in  the  seminary  at  this  time,  was  unceasing 
in  his  watchfulness  at  the  sick  bed.  He  contributed 
to  the  Messenger  the  following  account  of  Dr.  Har- 
baugh's  last  illness : 

1 '  He  was  first  taken  sick  about  the  beginning  of 
September,  a  few  days  before  the  opening  of  the  session 
in  the  Theological  Seminary.  He  had  been  on  a  visit 
to  Waynesboro,  at  the  close  of  his  vacation,  where  he 
was  attacked  with  severe  pains  in  the  head,  accom- 
panied with  fever.  After  coming  home,  he  passed 
through  what,  at  first,  appeared  to  be  an  ordinary  spell 
of  bilious  fever.  From  this  illness  he  arose  after  some 
five  or  six  weeks,  and  was  able  to  move  about  the 
house,  and  even  to  go  out.  At  this  time,  however, 
some  alarming  symptoms  began  to  show  themselves,  in 
the  slowness  of  his  recovery,  and  especially  in  a  certain 
dizziness,  so  that  he  was  unable  steadily  to  direct  the 
movements  of  his  body  ;  and  the  surmises  of  the  physi- 
cian began  to  be  confirmed  that  he  was  suffering  from 
a  cerebro-spinal  affection.  After  three  or  four  weeks, 
he  relapsed  into  his  former  state,  suffering  now  more 
than  ever  in  his  head.  From  this  time  on  his  mind 
became  somewhat  affected,  giving  additional  evidence 
that  the  disease  was  centered  in  his  head.  For  some 
days  he  was  in  a  revived  and  apparently  convalescent 


292 


UFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


state,  and  then  again  he  fell  into  a  dull,  comatose  con- 
dition, from  which  it  became  difficult  to  arouse  him. 
His  disease  became  thus  of  a  remittent  character.  After 
being  aroused  from  one  of  these  dull  states,  we  had  a 
service  in  his  room,  in  which  he  united  with  us  in  sing- 
ing two  of  his  favorite  hymns,  and  in  repeating  the 
words  of  the  Apostles'  Creed. 

"  His  last  revived  state  continued  longer  than  usual, 
and  gave  us  some  hopes  that  perhaps  the  disease  had 
passed  its  crisis.  On  Sunday  evening  before  Christmas, 
he  gave  indications  of  again  passing  into  a  worse  con- 
dition. On  that  day,  his  mind  seemed  tolerably  rational. 
He  knew  that  Christmas  was  near  ;  and,  in  answer  to 
a  question  we  proposed  to  him,  he  promptly  named  the 
day  on  which  it  would  occur. 

' '  From  this  time  on  he  continued  to  grow  worse.  On 
Christmas  day  he  was  able  to  take  some  nourishment, 
and  a  little  again  on  Thursday  morning.  From  that 
time  on  he  lay  in  a  heavy  sleep,  from  which  he  could 
not  be  aroused  ;  the  symptoms  continued  to  become 
more  alarming,  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day  dis- 
patches were  sent  to  his  friends  that  he  was  not  ex- 
pected to  live.  All  human  help  was  now  unavailing, 
and  we  could  only  sit  by  his  bedside  and  watch  him 
through  the  heavy  hours  which  brought  him  nearer  to 
his  end.  On  Saturday,  the  last  day  of  his  earthly  life, 
when  he  seemed  to  be  entering  the  valley  and  shadow 
of  death,  we  joined  in  the  prayer  and  litany  for  the 
dying,  commending  his  spirit  to  God.  At  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  he  peacefully,  without  a  struggle, 
breathed  his  last,  and  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG, 


293 


1 '  During  these  trying  seasons  the  utmost  kindness 
and  affectionate  regard  was  manifested  for  their  beloved 
teacher  by  the  students  of  the  Theological  Seminary. 
One  of  them,  Mr.  Jacob  F.  Wiant,  became  from  the 
beginning  of  his  sickness  his  constant  attendant.  Be- 
yond any  other  we  have  ever  known,  this  young 
brother  seemed  to  possess  the  special  gift  of  ministering 
in  the  sick-chamber.  His  affectionate  attentions  were 
devoted  day  and  night  to  his  beloved  professor.  He 
stood  by  his  bedside  wiping  away  the  cold  death-sweat 
from  his  brow  until  he  breathed  his  last. 

"The  other  students  also  joined  affectionately  in 
watching  with  him  to  the  last. 

"  Thus  Dr.  Harbaugh  passed  away  at  Mercersburg, 
Pennsylvania,  in  the  midst  of  his  labors,  December 
28th,  1867,  aged  fifty  years  and  two  months. 

"  His  funeral  took  place  on  Tuesday,  the  3ist  day  of 
December,  the  last  day  of  the  year  1867.  The  immense 
multitude  in  attendance  was  formed  into  a  procession 
at  the  house,  whence  they  proceeded  to  the  sanctuary 
of  God.  Arriving  at  the  church  the  opening  sentences 
in  the  office  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  were  read,  as 
the  procession  passed  slowly  along  the  aisle,  by  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  W.  Neviu.  The  goth  Psalm  was  then  chanted 
in  subdued  tones  by  the  choir.  The  Scripture  lesson 
was  read  by  Dr.  R.  S.  Schneck,  followed  by  the  first 
prayer,  offered  by  Dr.  E.  V.  Gerhart.  A  sermon  was 
then  preached  by  Dr.  Nevin,  from  the  words  :  '  But  I 
would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concern- 
ing them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as 
other  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe  that 
19 


2  94  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus,  will  God  bring  with  Him/  (I.  Thes., 
iv.,  13.) 

' '  At  this  point  the  resolutions,  adopted  in  a  meeting 
held  in  the  lecture  room  of  the  seminary  the  evening 
previous,  were  read  by  Prof.  Theo.  Apple.  Rev.  B. 
Bausman  then  read  the  1 83rd  hymn,  from  '  Hymns  and 
Chants,'  commencing  '  Forever  with  the  L,ord,'  which 
the  choir  sang  to  a  tune  which,  as  well  as  the  hymn, 
was  a  favorite  with  Dr.  Harbaugh,  and  had  been  sung 
in  the  sick-chamber  during  his  illness. 

' '  The  procession  then  proceeded  to  the  grave  imme- 
diately in  front  of  the  church,  and  opposite  the  ceno- 
taph of  Dr.  Rauch,  where  the  remains  were  deposited 
according  to  the  service  provided  in  the  liturgy,  which 
was  read  by  Dr.  Nevin. 

"  The  Reformed  Church,  in  which  the  services  were 
held,  was  still  clothed  in  the  beautiful  Christmas  deco- 
rations ;  but  these  were  now  draped  in  mourning.  The 
surroundings,  as  the  corpse  lay  before  the  altar,  were 
beautiful  even  in  their  sadness.  They  were  just  such 
as  Dr.  Harbaugh  would  have  chosen  to  surround  his 
body  in  its  burial.  The  Christmas  decorations  were 
there  to  speak  forth  his  own  love  for  the  festal  days  and 
their  pious  observance  in  the  church,  which  he  always 
so  earnestly  advocated,  and  in  which  he  loved  to  join. 
The  liturgical  service  was  among  the  last  works  which 
he  gave  to  the  church,  the  office  for  burial  being 
mainly  his  own  contribution  as  a  member  of  the  Lit- 
urgical Committee.  Though  the  emblems  of  mourning 
were  now  mingled  with  these  decorations,  yet  the  joy 


BACK  TO  OU)  MERCERSBURG.  295 

of  a  Saviour's  birth  triumphed  still  over  the  sorrow  of 
the  grave.  That  birth  looked,  through  death,  to  the 
resurrection,  in  which  all  our  hopes  of  a  blessed  immor- 
tality center.  This  hope  and  comfort  were  brought 
home  to  our  sorrowing  hearts  by  Dr.  Nevin,  in  his  ser- 
mon, in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  us  to  be  filled  with 
Christian  peace  even  in  the  deepest  sorrow. ' ' 

An  imposing  monument  was  erected  to  his  mem- 
ory by  the  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church,  which, 
with  appropriate  religious  services,  was  unveiled 
on  the  1 8th  of  October,  1870. 

A  procession  formed  in  the  seminary  campus, 
embracing  the  students  and  faculties  of  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  and  Mercersburg  College,  and 
ministers  and  others  in  attendance  from  abroad. 
The  procession  gathered  around  the  monument, 
where  the  services  took  place.  Dr.  Thomas  G. 
Apple  then  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Henry  Harbaugh,  whose  body  lies  buried  at  our 
feet,  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  on  the  28th  day  of  December, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1867.  Through  all  his  extreme 
sufferings  he  continued  unto  the  end  firm  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Faith  which  he  had  taught  arid 
defended  with  exemplary  fidelity  throughout  his  life. 
Called  from  his  many  labors  and  arduous  toils,  he  hath 
gone  before  us  into  rest,  and  joined  the  holy  fellowship 
of  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  and  martyrs,  and  the 
whole  glorious  company  of  the  redeemed  of  all  ages 
who  have  died  in  the  Lord  and  now  live  with  Him  for- 


296  LIFB  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

evermore.  The  church  therefore  in  whose  service  he 
labored,  mindful  of  the  great  grace  and  many  gifts  be- 
stowed on  him  by  God,  and  rejoicing  in  the  blessed 
communion  of  saints  over  which  death  hath  no  power, 
has  erected  this  monument  which  we  now  unveil." 

(Here  the  minister  paused  until  the  monument  was  unveiled, 
and  then  proceeded  as  follows  :) 

"  And  now  let  this  monument  show  forth,  during  all 
time  to  come,  the  gratitude  of  the  Church  to  God,  the 
Father  of  our  L,ord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  good  example 
of  his  servant  whom  she  honors,  and  for  the  blessed 
privilege  which  her  children  enjoy  of  having  part  in 
the  glorious  company  of  all  those  who  have  gone  before 
them  in  the  way  of  salvation,  and  let  it  inspire  all  who 
may  look  upon  it  with  zeal  to  follow  the  faith  of  those 
saints  who  have  died  in  the  Lord  and  now  live  with 
Him  for  evermore. " 

The  following  ministers  from  abroad  were  pres- 
ent :  Rev.  J.  O.  Miller,  a  member  of  the  synod's 
committee,  who  was  chiefly  active  in  preparing  the 
design  of  the  monument ;  G.  L.  Staley,  S.  S.  Miller, 
S.  G.  Wagner,  J.  S.  Kieffer,  William  Goodrich, 
T.  J.  Seiple,  J.  Hassler,  W.  C.  B.  Shulenberger, 
Dr.  M.  Kieffer,  S.  N.  Callender,  G.  B.  Russell,  and 
G.  H.  Johnston.  There  were  also  a  number  of 
elders  and  laymen  from  different  portions  of  the 
church  present,  and  many  friends  of  Dr.  Harbaugh 
from  Greencastle,  Chambersburg,  Clearspring,  and 
other  places  in  the  vicinity.  The  public  schools  of 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG. 


297 


the  town  were  closed  and  a  large  concourse  of  citi- 
zens came  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  memory  of 
the  departed.  The  church  was  filled.  A  deep 
solemnity  pervaded  the  audience,  who  listened  with 
intense  interest  to  the  memorial  address,  prepared 
by  Dr.  E.  V.  Gerhart  and  read  by  Dr.  E.  E.  Hig- 
bee.* 

The  monument  is  of  fine  Italian  marble,  twelve 
feet  high,  resting  on  a  granite  base  and  terminating 
in  a  cross.  It  is  in  tableau  design  ;  the  front  sur- 
face resting  on  three  terraces  of  stone,  is  three  feet 
in  width.  Just  under  the  cross  and  above  the 
shield  which  bears  his  name,  title,  and  date  of  birth 
and  death,  the  artist  has  cut  an  almost  life  size  bust, 
and  on  the  right  of  the  shield,  in  three-quarter  re- 
lief, stands  a  student  with  book  in  hand  weeping. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  shield  stands  the  figure  of 
an  angel,  also  in  three-quarter  relief,  with  head  un- 
covered and  face  turned  upward,  the  forefinger  of 
the  right  hand  pointing  upward.  This  angel  bears 
in  his  other  hand  a  palm  leaf,  the  symbol  of  vic- 
tory. On  the  two  lower  terraces  of  marble,  in  front, 
is  the  lettering.  On  the  upper,  a  stanza  from  one 
of  Dr.  Harbaugh's  hymns  as  follows  : 

' '  Living  or  dying,  Lord, 

I  ask  but  to  be  Thine  ; 
My  life  in  Thee,  Thy  life  in  me, 
Makes  heav'n  forever  mine." 

*  Reformed  Church  Messenger,  Oct.  26,  1870. 


298  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

The  lower  slab,  immediately  above  the  granite 
base,  contains  simply  the  family  name — u  Har- 
baugh." 

Upon  the  right  and  left  face  of  this  lower  block 
are  cut  two  extracts  from  the  Pennsylvania-German 
poem,  "  Heemweh,"  which  in  the  original  is 
touching  and  full  of  pathos.  The  one  is  : 

"  O  wann's  net  vor  der  Himmel  war, 

Mit  seiner  scheene  Run, 
Dann  war  m'r's  do  schun  lang  verleedt, 

Ich  wisst  net,  was  zu  dim. 
Doch  Hoffnung  leichtet  meinen  Weg 

Der  ew'gen  Heemet  zu." 

On  the  other  side,  from  the  same  poem — 

"  Dort  find  m'r,  was  m'r  do  verliert, 

Un  b'halt's  in  Ewigkeit ; 
Dort  lewe  unsre  Dodte  all, 
In  Licht  un  ew'ger  Freid  !" 

Other  memorials  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  have  been 
placed  in  recent  years  in  several  of  the  churches  of 
which  he  was  at  one  time  pastor.  When  the  First 
Reformed  Church,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  was  remodelled 
recently,  among  the  memorial  windows  was  one  to 
him  erected  by  the  ladies  of  the  congregation.  On 
the  occasion  of  the  rebuilding  of  "  Harbaugh's 
Church,"  which  stands  almost  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  old  homestead  in  Franklin  County, 
Pa.,  the  large  window  at  the  front  of  the  building 
was  erected  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Harbaugh  by  his 
family.  In  the  chapel  of  the  new  seminary  at 


BACK  TO  OLD  MERCERSBURG.  299 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  all  the  windows  are  memorials  to 
the  former  professors — one  being  in  memory  of  Dr. 
Harbaugh. 

In  the  reading  room  of  the  seminary  at  Lancaster 
hangs  a  portrait  in  oil  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  which  is 
pronounced,  by  those  who  knew  him  in  life,  to'  be 
a  most  excellent  and  faithful  likeness.  It  was  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  B.  Wolff,  Jr.,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and 
was  unveiled  November  22,  1897,  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  number  of  friends  and  several  members 
of  the  immediate  family  of  Dr.  Harbaugh. 

Much  of  the  narrative  contained  in  the  foregoing 
chapter  has  been  gathered  from  those  who  were 
personal  friends  of  Dr.  Harbaugh,  and  perhaps  the 
writer  has  here  and  there  appropriated  too  liberally, 
and  presumed  too  far  upon  the  friendship  of  those 
amongst  whom  he  passed  his  childhood  days  on  the 
old  college  campus  at  Mercersburg. 

The  boy  of  seven  years  can  have  few  personal 
recollections  to  offer  upon  any  subject,  but  the  few 
impressions  he  has  carried  forward  in  memory  to 
mature  years  must  be  true  and  unfeigned. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  loved  childhood  and  children.  It 
was  his  delight  to  watch  them  at  play,  and  he 
cherished  up  their  sayings  in  his  heart.  His 
addresses  to  young  people  disclosed  a  rare  talent, 
and  the  abstractions  of  the  lecture  room  or  study 
and  sternness  of  manner  he  never  carried  with  him 
to  an  audience  of  young  people  or  into  the  com- 


3°° 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


pany  of  little  folks.  For  the  latter  he  had  Christ- 
mas stories  from  the  German  and  Christmas  stones 
of  his  own.  His  patient,  sympathetic  eyes  could 
draw  the  timidest  child  in  confidence  to  his  arms, 
and  he  could  console  their  little  griefs  with  inno- 
cent diversions  that  seemed  to  suit  the  require- 
ments of  each  particular  childish  calamity.  His 
fund  of  riddles  and  anecdotes  for  children  was 
usually  of  the  kind  to  lead  their  minds  gently  to 
the  Scriptures. 

There  are  many  students  now  in  middle  life  who 
will  remember  well  the  old  chapel  with  its  walls 
papered  in  imitation  of  natural  wood  panels  and 
frame  work,  giving  it  somewhat  of  a  massive  and 
mediaeval  appearance.  Some  no  doubt  will  remem- 
ber, too,  the  last  Sunday  upon  which  Dr.  Har- 
baugh  conducted  the  service  there  in  1867.  His 
form  was  still  erect,  but  his  locks  had  whitened 
and  the  wonted  color  of  his  face  had  fled.  Near 
the  end  of  his  sermon  he  paused  as  though  to 
gather  up  the  threads  of  his  thought.  A  little 
boy,  mistaking  this  for  the  conclusion  of  the  ser- 
vice, slipped  quietly  out  of  his  place  in  the  family 
pew  and  made  his  way  up  to  the  pulpit.  As  he 
reached  out  to  take  the  hand  of  his  father,  the 
minister  stooped  gently  down  and  amid  the  wave 
of  amusement  that  passed  over  the  assembly  of 
students  farther  back  in  the  chapel,  whispered,  "  Sit 
down  and  wait  for  me,  we  will  soon  go  home." 


BACK  TO  OIvD  MERCERSBURG. 


301 


There  on  the  step  in  front  of  the  altar  the  little 
fellow  sat,  unembarrassed  by  the  gaze  of  those  in 
front  of  him,  and  secure  in  the  protection  of  the 
beloved  form  that  stood  nearby. 

It  is  with  this  picture  in  mind — rather  than  that 
of  the  lingering  months  following  it — that  the 
present  writer  would  lay  down  his  pen. 


Why  should  a  life  that  had  come  to  be  so  valu- 
able to  the  church — so  sympathetic  in  the  life  of 
the  people — so  affectionate  and  dear  to  l  *  the  home 
of  his  heart,"  and  the  little  ones  that  gathered 
around  his  knee — be  thus  taken  away  ? 

It  is  said  that  in  the  Alps  of  Switzerland,  high  up 
on  the  ledges  of  the  mountain  side,  there  are  clumps 
and  bits  of  sweet  herbs  or  grass  upon  which  the 
flocks  love  to  feed.  From  the  larger  pastures  below 
the  path  upward  seems  narrow  and  difficult  to 
climb.  The  broader  fields  and  easier  way  below  are 
more  inviting. 

The  watchful  shepherd,  gently  urging  his  flock 
upward  to  the  pure  air  and  richer  pastures,  some- 
times leads  off  one  of  his  trusted  ones,  or  perchance 
takes  it  up  in  his  arms  and  makes  his  way  along 
the  narrow  path.  Beholding  this,  the  timid,  doubt- 
ing ones  below  take  courage  and  begin  to  look  up 
and  to  follow  the  lead  of  their  shepherd  and  his 
trusted  charge.  Thus  they  all  reach  step  by  step 


302 


LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


the  higher  and  richer  pasture,  where  they  may  enjoy 
the  companionship  of  the  one  whom  they  have  lost 
a  while -in  the  narrow  way,  but  who  has  encouraged 
them  to  struggle  upward,  protected  by  the  strong 
arm  and  assured  by  the  gentle  voice  of  their  master. 
And  now,  as  though  in  a  voice  from  beyond  the 
clouds,  come  the  words  of  The  Sainted  Dead  : 

11  Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  heavenly  pilgrims,  and  be- 
hold your  home  !  Your  earnest,  longing  eyes  turned 
upward,  declare  plainly  that  you  seek  a  country. 
'  Blessed  are  they  that  are  homesick,  for  they  shall  get 
home.'  As  yet  there  is  woe  unto  you,  because  you 
sojourn  in  Mesech,  and  are  compelled  to  tarry  in  the 
tents  of  Kedar  ;  but  if  you  will,  I  shall  speak  comfort- 
ably to  you,  in  the  language  of  Canaan,  by  the  way. 
Rest  thee,  then,  upon  thy  staff,  for  even  in  this  weary 
land  whence  ye  go  out,  it  is  granted  unto  wayfaring 
men  to  turn  aside  for  a  night,  to  refresh  themselves 
with  rest  under  the  shadow  of  a  rock." 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


1.  A  Plea  for  Temperance,  1845.     A  Pamphlet. 

2.  A  Word  in  Season,  or  a  Plea  for  Legislative  aid  in  putting 

down  the  evils  of  intemperance.  Printed  at  the  publication 
office  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  Chambersburg,  Pa. 
1846.  50  pages. 

3.  The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  or  Short  Instruction  in  Chris- 

tian Doctrine,  as  it  is  conducted  in  the  churches  and 
schools  of  the  Palatinate  and  elsewhere,  explained  and 
confirmed  with  proof  passages  from  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
The  whole  adapted  to  the  use  of  Catechetical  Classes,  Sab- 
bath Schools,  and  family  instruction.  Translated  from  the 
German  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Good  and  Rev.  H.  Harbaugh. 
Chambersburg,  M.  Kieffer  &  Co.,  1849. 

4.  Woe  to  the  Drunkard  Maker  !     A  sermon  preached  in  the 

German  Reformed  Church,  Lewisburg,  on  the  8th,  and  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  New  Berlin,  on  the  loth  of  July, 
1849,  by  Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh.  Printed  at  the  Good  Sa- 
maritan office,  New  Berlin,  Pa.,  1849,  pp.  17.  Second  edi- 
tion printed  at  the  office  of  the  German  Reformed  Mess., 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  1849. 

5.  Three  Volumes  on  the  Future  Life. 

The  Sainted  Dead,  pp.  290,  Phila.,  1848. 
Heavenly  Recognition,  pp.  288.,  Phila.,  1851. 
The  Heavenly  Home,  pp.  365,  Phila.,  1853. 

6.  Founded  the  Guardian,  a  Monthly  Magazine,  in  1850.     Ed- 

itor of  the  Guardian,  1850-1866. 

7.  "Trials  and  Triumphs  of  Genius;"    an  address  delivered 

before  the  Gamma  Theta  Society  of  Strasburg  Academy, 
Lancaster,  1852,  pp.  16. 

8.  The  Duty  and  Privilege  of  Making  a  Public  Profession  of 

Religion,  by  connection  with  the  church.  Lancaster,  Pa., 
1851,  32  pages. 


ii.  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

9.  Union  with  the  Church.     1853. 

10.  The  Birds  of  the  Bible.     300  pages.     1854. 

11.  Annals  of  the  Harbaugh  Family  from  1736  to  1856.   16  mo. 
pp.  148.     Chambersburg,  Pa.,  1861. 

12.  Life  of  Michael  Schlatter,  Phila.,  1857,  pp.  375. 

13.  The  Fathers  of  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  Europe 
and  America,   Lancaster,   Pa.,  1857-1858.     Vol.  I.  pp.  394, 
Vol.  II.  pp.  408. 

14.  The  True  Glory  of  Woman,     pp.  263,  Phila.,  1858. 

15.  The  Lord's  Portion,  1858.     Reprinted  at  Reading,  Pa.,  1885, 
pp.  126. 

16.  "  Young  Men. ' '    A  Lecture  delivered  before  the  Young  Men 
of  Manheim,  Feb.   ii,  1859.     8  pages. 

17.  Poems.     Phila.,  1860,  pp.  285. 

18.  The  Golden  Censer.     Phila.,  1860,  pp.  419. 

19.  Hymns  and  Chants.     1861,  pp.  348. 

20.  The  Child's  Catechism,     pp.  80.     Chambersburg,  1861. 

21.  The  Star  of  Bethlehem.     A  Christmas  Story  for  Good  Chil- 
dren.    Lancaster,  Pa.,  1862.     Pearsol  &  Geist.     20  pages. 

22.  "Ueber  Spaltungen  und  Unabhangigkeit  in    der    Kirche 
Chnsti."      Harrisburg,    Pa.,    1863.      pp.    61.       (Published 
anonymously.     A  copy  in  the  library  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Dubbs 
has  the  following  in  Harbaugh's  own  handwriting  in  Ger- 
man script :  Dr.  L.  H.  Steiner,  von  dem  Verfasser,  H.  Har- 
bach.) 

23.  "  The  Bright  Light  in  the  Clouds."     A  sermon  delivered  in 
St.  John's  Church,  Lebanon,  Pa.,  Sunday  morning,  Oct.  ii, 

1863,  in  commemoration  of  Theo.   D.  Fisher,  A.B.     Leba- 
non, 1863,  pp.  26. 

24.  "The  Religious  Character  of  Washington."      Chambers- 
burg, Pa.,  1863,  pp.  24. 

25.  "Creed  and  Cultus."     Article,  contributed  and  read  before 
the  Tercentenary  Convention  at  Phila.,  in  1863. 

26.  Farewell  Words  Addressed  to  St.  John's  Congregation  in 
Lebanon,  Pa.,  on  the  evening  of  Sunday  after  New  Year, 

1864,  15  pp. 

27.  "  Christological  Theology."     Phila.,  1864,  pp.  80. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  iii. 

28.  "Christmas  :  A  Story  for  My  Friends."     From  the  German 
of  Franz  Hoffman.     Phila.,  1864,  pp.  114. 

29.  A  Plea  for  Beautiful  Churches.     A  sermon  preached  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Church  of  the  Cross,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
Dec.  20,  1863.    17  pages.    Published  by  congregation,  1864. 

30.  Treason  and  Law.     A  discourse   delivered  at  Clearspring, 
Md.,  June  I,  1865,  the  National  day  of  mourning.     31  pages. 
Jas.  B.  Rodgers,  Phila.,  Pa.,  1865. 

31.  "The  German  Burns,"  an  article  on  the  poet  Johann  Peter 
Hebel   in   the  magazine,   Hours  at  Home,  October,  1866. 
Reprinted  in  the  Guardian,  1868. 

32.  Youth  in  Earnest.     As  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Theodore 
David  Fisher,  A.M.     S.  R.  Fisher  &  Co.,  Phila.,  1867,  238 
pages. 

33.  Contributed  the  Lives  of  Reformed  Ministers  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Clintock's  Theological  Cyclopaedia. 

34.  Editor  of  the  Mercersburg  Review  in  1867. 

35.  Contributed  many  articles  to  the  Reformed  Church  Mes- 
senger. 

36.  Editor  of  The  Child's  Treasury. 

37.  Originator  and  editor  of  the  Church  Almanac. 

POSTHUMOUS  PUBLICATIONS. 

38.  Harbaugh's  Harfe.     A  collection  of  his  poems  in   the  Ger- 
man Dialect  of  Pennsylvania,  edited  by  Rev.  B.  Bausman, 
D.D.     Phila.,  1870,  pp.  117. 

39.  The  Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church.     Vol.  3,  edited  by 
Rev.  D.  Y.  Heisler,  D.D.  (1872^,  pp.  493. 

40.  The  History  of  the  First  Reformed  Church,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
published  in  Ellis  and  Evans'  History  of  Lancaster  County, 
is  taken  chiefly  (down  to  1851  /  from  three  Centenary  Dis- 
courses preached  Oct.  n  and  12,  1851  (the  manuscript  is  in 
possession  of  Mr.  John  B.  Roth,  Treasurer  of  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  of  the  Eastern  Synod). 

The  following  are  his  contributions  to  the  Mercers- 
burg  Review  ; 


iv.  LIFE  OF  HENRY  HARBAUGH. 

Reverence  in  Worship,  1849. 

Systematic  Benevolence,  1851. 

The  Doctrine  of  Christian  Baptism,  from  the  German  of  Dr. 
Martensen,  1852-1853. 

Parochial  or  Christian  Schools,  1853. 

Christian  Cultus  :  Its  Nature,  History  and  Relations,  1854-1855. 

The  Land  of  Blessedness,  from  the  German  of  Dr.  Lange,  1854. 

Dr.  Casper  Olevianus,  from  the  German  of  Max  Goebel,  1855. 

Dr.  Zacharias  Ursinus,  from  the  German  of  Max  Goebel,  1855. 

Boardman  on  the  Christian  Ministry,  1856. 

Rev.  Jacob  Lischy,  1856. 

Inner  Life  of  the  Christian,  1857. 

The  Church  System  and  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  1857. 

The  First  Liturgy  for  the  Celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in 
the  Reformed  Church,  1857. 

Hymn  of  Bonaventura  ;  a  translation,  1858. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  :  Its  Formation  and  First  Introduc- 
tion in  the  Palatinate,  1859. 

The  Power  Behind  the  Throne,  1859. 

Faith  and  Knowledge,  1859. 

Sy nodical  Church  Authority,  1860. 

What  is  a  Catechumen?  1860. 

The  Literature  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  1860. 

The  Early  Introduction  of  Catechization  in  the  Reformed 
Church,  1 86 1. 

Catechisms,  1861. 

Introductory  Article,  1867. 

The  Christain  Idea  of  Almsgiving,  1867. 

The  Two  Systems,  1867. 

The  Essence  and  Form  of  Christianity,  1867. 

The  Old  Distinction  between  "Gemeinde"  and  "Kirche,"  1867. 

The  Church  Doctrine  of  the  Forgiveness  of  Sin  (Posthumous), 
1868. 


M181690 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


